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THF WHITF MOUNTAINS FROM NORTH PON WAY 




















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INCIDENTS 


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IN 


WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY: 


CONTAINING 


FACTS RELATING TO THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF THE 
MOUNTAINS, INDIAN HISTORY AND TRADITIONS, A MINUTE 
AND AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF 
THE WILLEY FAMILY, GEOLOGY AND TEM¬ 
PERATURE OF THE MOUNTAINS; 


TOGETHER WITH 



ILLUSTRATING 


LIFE IN THE BACK-WOODS 



B Y 


\ 


BENJAMIN G. WILLEY. 

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♦ 


BOSTON: 


NATHANIEL NOYES 


NO. 11 CORNHILL. 


DOVER, N. H.: EDMUND J. LANE. 

1 8 5 G . 

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 
BENJAMIN G. WILLEY, 

the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 


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PREFACE. 


Almost invariably the question is asked me, on an intro¬ 
duction to a stranger, “ Are you a connection of the family 
destroyed at the White Mountains?” and, on learning that I 
am, the question is almost certain to follow, “ What were 
the facts in regard to their destruction?” 

The frequency of the inquiry, and the apparent interest 
with which the narration of that fearful scene has been lis¬ 
tened to, have led me to suppose that a particular account of 
that terrible storm, and the destruction of my brother’s fam¬ 
ily, would be interesting to the public. Travellers have 
long needed a Book of the Mountains; and so pressingly 
have I been urged to undertake such a book, that the above 
fact, the abundance of material, and the thought that I 
might benefit myself, and supply an existing want, has 
induced me to undertake the task. How I have succeeded 
others will judge. It was not undertaken as a literary 
effort, but a simple narration of facts. Are they intelligible ? 
is my only inquiry. When I commenced, there was no book 
on the White Mountains, save a small work by Mrs. Craw- 

1 * 



VI 


PREFACE. 


ford, widow of the late Ethan A. Crawford. That was out 
of print, and had been so for years. When my manuscript 
was nearly completed, a small book on the White Mountains 
came out, by Mr. John H. Spaulding; but it does not con¬ 
flict with mine. 

I am under great obligations to the Rev. Daniel Goodhue, 
formerly of Gilead, Me., now of Andover, N. H., for the 
large amount of matter which he furnished me concerning 
the history of the eastern side of the mountains. Joel 
Winch, Esq., of Bethlehem, has also my hearty thanks for 
matter furnished by him. The kindness of the Hon. N. B. 
Baker, of Concord; E. J. Lane, Esq., of Dover; B. B. 
French, Esq., Washington, D. C. ; Gen. Samuel Fessenden, 
of Portland; James Willey, Esq., of Conway; Rev. Samuel 

Souther, of Fryburg, and others, who have assisted me with 

% 

books and material, is gratefully remembered. My son, 
Mr. S. T. B. Willey, has also been of great assistance to me 
in arranging and writing much of the book. B. G. W. 

East Sumner, Me., Sept., 1855. 


\ 

CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

THE MOUNTAINS. 

The extent and location of the mountains.— Their height and the great distance 
at which they are seen.— The Indian names.— The origin of these names.— 
Dr. Belknap’s description.— The early visitors.— Vines’ and Gorge’s visit.— 
Josselyn’s account of his visit.— The central group of mountains.— Heights 
of different summits.— Gate of the Notch.— Notch.— Mount Webster.— 
Giant’s Grave.— View from Giant’s Grave.— The tops of the mountains.— The 
foliage on their sides.— The vegetation on the higher summits.— The shad¬ 
ows of clouds.— Insects on the mountains.— Birds.— The dead trees.— The 
mountains during a storm — as seen by moonlight — as seen in winter.— The 
sides.— View from the summit of Mount Washington.— View at sunrise.— 
Indian tradition,... 13 

CHAPTER II. 

MOUNTAINS CONTINUED. 

The many objects of interest.— The great gulf.— Oakes’ gulf.— Tuckerman’s 
ravine.— Snow cavern.— Source of the many springs on the mountains.— 
Saco and Merrimac rivers.— Ellis and Peabody rivers.— Cascades.— Silver 
cascades.— The flume.— The devil’s den.— Crystal falls.— Glen Ellis falls.— 
Ammonoosuc.— Falls of the Ammonoosuc.— Franconia mountains. — Mount 
Lafayette. — Eagle cliff. — Cannon mount.— Old Man of the Mountains.— 
Profile lake.— Optical illusions from Cannon mount. — Echo lake. — The 
basin.— The flume.— The pool.— Narrow escape from a fall into the pool, 28 

CHAPTER III. 

THE INDIANS. 

The Uncertainty of the many traditions.— The superstitions of the Indians.— 
Probable cause of those superstitions.— Tradition of a flood.— Great treas¬ 
ures of gold and gems.— Search for treasures.— The particular tribes inhab- 




VIII 


CONTENTS. 


iting the mountains.— Indian relics in Conway — In Ossipee — in Ffyburg. 
— The Sokokis.— Their destruction by the pestilence.— Account of Vines 
of his visit to them.— Squando.— Death of his child.— Assacumbuit.— Visit 
to France. — Destruction of Haverhill. — Polan. — Whittier’s verses on his 
burial.— Chocorua.— His curse.— Anasagunticooks.— Their chiefs.— Hon. 
Enoch Lincoln’s interest in Indians of this region.— Visit of Gov. Lincoln to 
Natalluck.— Indian myth.— The little Indian infant.— Curious marriage 
custom,.•.42 


CHAPTER IV. 

COOS COUNTY. 

Coos as a farming county.— The opinion of lion. Isaac Hill.— Dr. Dwight’s 
account of the climate.— The many and peculiar shapes of towns.— Kil¬ 
kenny.— Pilot and Willard mountains.— Story of Willard and his dog.— 
Randolph.— Extensive views from Randolph.— Ascent of Mount Jefferson.— 
Great danger in a storm.— View from Jefferson.—Jefferson.— Beautiful sit¬ 
uation of Jefferson.— Brothers Glines.— Colonel Whipple.— His yearly visit 
to Portsmouth.— Story illustrating his care of his townsmen.— His capture 
by the Indians, and escape.— Mr. Gotham.— The importance of the discov¬ 
ery of the Notch.— Nash’s discovery of the pass.— Gov. Wentworth.— Get¬ 
ting a horse through the defile.— Sawyer.— “ Sawyer’s Rock.”— Mountain 
carriages.— Barrel of tobacco.— Barrel of rum.— Cutting the road through 
the Notch.— Hart’s location,.58 

CHAPTER V. 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

Early settlement of the locations. — Capt. Rosebrook. — Monadnuc. — Mrs. 
Rosebrook.— Scarcity of salt.— Great crops.— Removal from Monadnuc.- 
Settlement at Guildhall.— Mrs. Rosebrook’s adventure with the Indians.— 
Removal to Nash and Sawyer’s location.— Difficulty of finding his house in 
the drifts of snow.— Want of provisions.— His energy.— Cancer.— His 


death.— Ethan Allen Crawford, the giant of the mountains — His early 
youth.— Hardships.— The treacherous servant,.75 


CHAPTER VI. 

ETHAN A. CRAWFORD. 

Mr. Crawford’s impressive manner of story-telling.— The burning of his build¬ 
ings.— His energy in repairing his losses.— His labors as a guide on to the 
mountains.— The difficulty formerly of reaching the mountains.— Story illus¬ 
trating difficulty of travelling in those days.— Present modes of reaching 
mountains.— First ascent of the mountains.— Party of students from Fry- 





CONTENTS. 


IX 


* 

burg.— Ease of ascending now.— First bridle-path.— Ethan’s severe wound. 

— Granny Stalbard.— Carriage-road from Glen House.— Love of Hunting.— 
The gray cat.— Adventures with them.— Lassos and captures one with birch 
poles.— Wolves.— His annoyance and discomfiture by them.— Bear stories. 

— Catching the cub.— Capture of a full-grown bear,.83 

CHAPTER Y11. 

THE CRAWFORD FAMILY. 

Mr. Crawford’s early death.— A remarkable man.— The Crawford family.— 
Abel Crawford.— Mrs. Crawford.— Her bravery during the night of the 
slides.— “ Crawford House.”— Death of Mr. Strickland on the mountains.— 
Danger of ascending mountains without guide.— Party of students lost on 
mountains.— Nancy’s brook.— Story of Nancy.— Superstitions connected 
with the spot where she was found.— Owl story.— Beautiful auroral display 
at the Notch,.95 


CHAPTER VIII. 

THE SLIDES. 

The effect of the turnpike upon travel through the Notch.— Coos teamsters.— 
Pleasure travel.— Want of public houses.— The first house built at the 
Notch.— Moving of Mr. Willey to the Notch.—The first winter after his 
removal.— The first slide in June.— The fears of Mr. Willey and his family. 

— The great storm.— The great drought previous to the storm.— Theory of 
slides.— The first signs of the storm.— The gathering of the clouds about the 
mountains, as seen from Conway.— Night of the disaster.— Very peculiar 
appearance of the mountains about midnight.— Rapid rise of the Saco in 
Conway.— First discovery of slides.— First news from the Notch.— The shrill 
voice in the darkness.— The confirmation of the first report.— The manner 
of communicating the news.— The trumpet at midnight.— Setting out for 
Notch.— Condition of the roads.— The appearance of the Saco valley.— 
Arrival at the “ Willey House.”—Search for the bodies.— Finding of some 
of the bodies.— Burial.— .-.he prayer at the grave.— Finding of other bodies. 

— Oxen.— The first night spent in the house succeeding the storm, . . .110 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE SLIDES, CONTINUED. 

The family dog.— The first conjecture in regard to manner of destruction.— 
Second conjecture.— Third conjecture.— The dream.— Why all were de- 
troyed.— The mutilation of the bodies.— David Allen.— The great rise of 
water.— Their terrible situation during the storm.— The effect of a storm 
upon a family in the same house a year after.— The storm,.129 





X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER X. 

THE SLIDES, CONCLUDED. 

The storm as witnessed by one at the mountains.— The view from Bethlehem. 
— Rapid rise of the Ammonoosuc.— Condition of Capt. Rosebrook’s farm.— 
Slides as first seen.— Falls of the Ammonoosuc.— Difficulty of reaching 
Crawford’s.— Attempt to ascend the mountains.— The camp.— Great destruc¬ 
tion of trees,.141 


CHAPTER XI. 

BARTLETT. 

General features.— Rocky branch.— Incident on its bank.— Incident of Ellis’ 
river.— First settlement.— Loss of the horses.— Snow caverns.— Brothers 
Emery.— Humphrey’s obstinacy.— Their perilous escape from freezing.— 
Hon. John Pendexter.— His removal from Portsmouth.— Children.— “ Rais¬ 
ing” scene.— Mrs. Pendexter.— The great distance of a market.— Difficulty 
of reaching market.— Traps for catching wild animals.— The common log 
trap.— Figure four.— Pequawket mountain.— Adventure with a rattlesnake. 

— The “ Chapel of the Hills.”— Mrs. Snow.— Its dedication,.147 

CHAPTER XII. 

JACKSON. 

The valleys of the mountains.— The directions in which they run.— Moose 
pond. — Moose bathing.— Moose.— The Conway hunter.— The leap of a 
moose over a horse and sleigh.— Eagle ledge.— Mineral resources.— General 
features of Jackson.— Benjamin Copp.— His endurance.— Mr. Pinkham’s 
account of his first entrance into Jackson —The hog.— The house.— Scarcity 
of salt.— Incident of Capt. Vere Royce.— Tornado.— Expedient to save chil¬ 
dren.— Bear story.— Freewill Baptist society.— Elder Daniel Elkins, .163 

CHAPTER XIII. 

CONWAY. 

Beautiful scenery of Conway.— Autumnal foliage.— Attractions of Conway to 
hunters and early settlers.— Elijah Dinsmore.— Expedient to keep from starv¬ 
ing.— Story of Emery.— Great freshet.— Maple sugar.— Mr. Willey’s en¬ 
counter with a bear.— Stephen Allard’s bear story.— Schools.— Boys and the 
hogs.— Congregational church.— Dr. Porter.— Baptist church.— Chataque. 

— North Conway.— Ledges.— Family burying-place.— Names of the family 

destroyed at the Notch,.174 




CONTENTS. 


XI 


CHAPTER XIV. 

FRYBURG. 

The importance of Fryburg in early times.— The grant of town to Gen. Frye. 
— Conditions of the grant. — First settlers. — Their hardships. — Oliver 
Peabody.— Indians.— Sabatis.— Encounter with a catamount.— Love of the 
water.— Indians’ love for Mr. Fessenden.— Old Phillip.— Fryburg expedi¬ 
tion to Shelburne.— Fryburg academy.— Buildings. — Preceptors. — Paul 
Langdon.— Daniel Webster.— Amos I. Cook.— Rev. William Fessenden.— 
Marion Lyle Hurd,.189 


CHAPTER XV. 

lovewell’s fight. 

View from Pequawket mountain.— Lovewell’s pond.— Sufferings of the early 
settlers in Dunstable.— Expedition to Winnipiseogee lake.— Expedition of 
Lovewell to Pequawket.— His company.— Encampment on the shore of the 
pond.— Situation of the Indian village.— “ Carrying place.”— Discovery of 
the first Indian.— Kill the Indian.— The battle.— Retreat of Lovewell's 
men.— Chamberlain and Paugus.— Council at night.— Retreat.— Ensign 
Wyman and companions.— Mr. Frye.— Jones.— Farwell and Davis.— Traces 
of the battle.— The old ballad,.204 

CHAPTER XVI. 

GILEAD. 

Situation of Gilead.— Soil.— Wild river.— Early settlers.—Ministers.— First 
church.— Slide.— Bears.— Encounter of one Bean.— York’s warm reception 
by a bear.— Oliver Peabody’s loose ox.— Famine among bears.— Bear and 
hog story.— Horrible tragedy,.222 

CHAPTER XVII. 

SEGAR’S NARRATIVE. 

Attack on Bethel.— Segar.— Indians.— Capture of Segar and companions.— 
Mrs. Clark.— The journey to Canada.— Pettengill’s house.— Hope Austin.— 
Capt. Rindge.— Murder of Poor.— Clark’s escape.— Encampments at night. 

— Umbagog lake.— Sufferings from hunger.— Arrival at St. Francis’river. 

— Indian dance.— British protection.— Return home,.234 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

SHELBURNE. 

Situation of Shelburne.— Mountains.— Evening drive among the mountains.— 
Mount Moriah.— Moses’ rock.— Granny Starbird’s ledge.— Why so called. 






XII 


CONTENTS. 


— Mineral wealth of this town.—Early settlers.—Mr. Daniel Ingalls.— 
Moses Ingalls.— Killing the devil.— Robert Fletcher Ingalls. Sufferings 

of the early settlers.— Indian massacre.— Terrible encounter with wolves. 

J . 244 

The famished soldier,. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

GORHAM. 

White Mountain Indians.— Col. Clark.— Molly Ockett.— Peol Susup. Indian 
eloquence.— Gorham.— Influence of the railroad upon it.— Alpine House. - 
Glen House.— Mount Washington road.— Carriages.— Building of the “ Sum¬ 
mit House.”—Weather on the summit in May.— Origin of Peabody river.— 
Wonderful endurance of cold,. 


CHAPTER XX. 

ALBANY, FRANCONIA, AND BETHLEHEM. 

Drake’s version of Chocorua’s curse.— Popular legend connected with this 
curs0 .— Cause of the disease among cattle in Albany.— Remedy for the dis. 

ease ._Beavers.— Military incident.— Franconia.— Iron mine. Extent of 

the mine.—Knight’s moose story.— Village of Bethlehem.— View of the 
mountains from Bethlehem.—Early settlement.—First road to the White 
Mountains from Bethlehem.—Expedient to keep from freezing.—First town¬ 
meeting.—Building bridge over Ammonoosuc.—Scarcity of provisions.— 
Extremity to which inhabitants were driven.— Bethlehem of the present 


CHAPTER XXI. 

GEOLOGY. 

Indian theory of creation of world.— Indian idea of the creation of the White 
Mountains.— Dr. Jackson’s theory.— Sir Charles Lyell’s theory, . . . .282 


CHAPTER XXII. 

TEMPERATURE OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

Thermometrical table.— Synopsis of the weather. Comparison of weather 
with Long Island weather. — Earthquakes.— Thunder-storms. — Wind. — 
Cold and frost.— Clearness of the atmosphere.— Length of days.— Springs 
— Combustion,.*. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Conclusion,.^00 







CHAPTER I 


THE MOUNTAINS. 

THE EXTENT AND LOCATION OF THE MOUNTAINS. — THEIR HEH3HT AND THE 

GREAT DISTANCE AT -WHICH THEY ARE SEEN.-THE INDIAN NAMES.- 

THE ORIGIN OF THESE NAMES.-DR. BELKNAP’S DESCRIPTION.-THE 

EARLY VISITORS.-VINES’ AND GORGE’S VISIT. — JOSSELYN’S ACCOUNT 

OF HIS VISIT.-THE CENTRAL GROUP OF MOUNTAINS.-HEIGHTS OF 

DIFFERENT SUMMITS. GATE OF THE NOTCH. •— NOTCH. MOUNT WEB¬ 
STER. — GIANT’S GRAVE. — VIEW FROM GIANT’S GRAVE. — THE TOPS OF 

THE MOUNTAINS.-THE FOLIAGE ON THEIR SIDES. — THE VEGETATION ON 

THE HIGHER SUMMITS.-THE SHADOWS OF CLOUDS.-INSECTS ON THE 

MOUNTAINS. -BIRDS.-THE DEAD TREES.-THE MOUNTAINS DURING A 

STORM-AS SEEN BY MOONLIGHT-AS SEEN IN WINTER.-THE SLIDES. 

-VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT WASHINGTON. -VIEW AT SUN¬ 
RISE. — INDIAN TRADITION. 


“ Mount Washington, I have come a long distance, have toiled hard to 
arrive at your summit, and now you seem to give me a cold reception.” 

Daniel Webster. 

The White Mountains embrace the whole group of moun¬ 
tains in northern New Hampshire, extending forty miles 
from north to south, and about the same distance from east 
to west. The term has sometimes been applied exclusively 
to the central cluster, including the six or seven highest 
peaks, and very properly, though in its comprehensive sense 
9! 



14 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


we think it should embrace the extended group. Mount 
Blanc and Mount Jura constitute not the whole of the Alps; 
neither do Washington and Monroe, the White Mountains. 
Clustering around their central height, like children of one 
large family, no merely arbitrary division should ever sepa¬ 
rate them. 

These mountains are the highest land east of the Missis¬ 
sippi river, “and, in clear weather, are descried before any 
other land by vessels approaching our eastern coast; but, by 
reason of their white appearance, are frequently mistaken for 
clouds. They are visible on the land at the distance of 
eighty miles, on the south and south-east sides. They 
appear higher when viewed from the north-east, and it is 
said they are seen from the neighborhood of Chamblee and 
Quebec.” 

The Indian name of these mountains, according to Belknap, 
is Agiocochook. President Alden states that they were 
known to some of the more eastern tribes of Indians by the 
name Waumbekketmethna; Waumbekket, signifying white, 
and methna, mountains. And still other tribes gave them 
the appellation Kan Ran Yugarty, the continued likeness 
of a Gull. All these names, we see, have the same general 
meaning, and refer to the white appearance of the moun¬ 
tains. 

“ During the period of nine or ten months the mountains 
exhibit more or less of that bright appearance, from which 
they are denominated white. In the spring, when the snow 
is partly dissolved, they appear of a pale blue, streaked with 
white; and after it is wholly gone, at the distance of sixty 
miles, they are altogether of the same pale blue, nearly ap¬ 
proaching a sky color ; while, at the same time, viewed at the 
distance of eight miles or less, they appear of the proper 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


15 


color of the rock. Light fleecy clouds, floating about their 
summits, give them the same whitish hue as snow. 

“ These vast and irregular heights, being copiously replen¬ 
ished with water, exhibit a great variety of beautiful cas¬ 
cades ; some of which fall in a perpendicular sheet or spout; 
others are winding and sloping; others spread, and form a 
basin in the rock, and then gush in a cataract over its edge. 
A poetic fancy may find full gratification amidst these wild 
and rugged scenes, if its ardor be not checked by the fatigue 
of the approach. Almost everything in nature, which can 
be supposed capable of inspiring ideas of the sublime and 
beautiful, is here realized. Old mountains, stupendous 
elevations, rolling clouds, impending rocks, verdant woods, 
crystal streams, the gentle rill, and the roaring torrent, all 
conspire to amaze, to soothe, and to enrapture.” 

These mountains were first visited in 1632, by one Darby 
Field, whose glowing account of the riches he had discovered 
on his return, caused others immediately to make the same 
exploration. The visit of a Mr. Vines and Gorges is thus 
described by Winthrop: “ The report brought by Darby 
Field, of shining stones, &c., caused divers others to travel 
thither; but they found nothing worth their pains. Mr. 
Gorges and Mr. Vines, two of the magistrates of Sir F. 
Gorges’ province, went thither about the end of this month 
(August). They set out, probably, a few days after the 
return of Field, dazzled by visions of diamonds and other 
precious minerals, with which the fancy of this man had 
garnished his story. 

‘ 1 They went up Saco river in birch canoes, and that way 
they found it ninety miles to Pegwagget, an Indian town; 
but by land it is but sixty. Upon Saco river they found 
many thousand acres of rich meadow; but there are ten falls 


16 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

which hinder boats, &c. From the Indian town they went 
up hill (for the most part), about thirty miles, in woody 
lands. Then they went about seven or eight miles upon 
shattered rocks, without tree or grass, very steep all the way. 
At the top is a plain, about three or four miles over, all shat¬ 
tered stones; and upon that is another rock or spire, about a 
mile in height, and about an acre of ground at the top. At 
the top of the plain arise four great rivers; each of them so 
much water at the first issue as would drive a mill: Connect¬ 
icut river from two heads at the N. W., and S. W., which 
join in one about sixty miles off; Saco river on the S. E.; 
Amascoggin, which runs into Casco bay, at the N. E.; and 
the Kennebec at the N. by E. The mountains run east 
and west, thirty or forty miles ; but the peak is above all the 
rest. They went and returned in fifteen days.” 

Josselyn, who visited them still later, has thus curiously 
described them : “ Four score miles (upon a direct line), to 

the N. W. of Scarborow, a ridge of mountains runs N. W. 
and 1ST. E., an hundred leagues, known by the name of the 
White Mountains, upon which lieth snow all the year, and is 
a landmark twenty miles off at sea. It is a rising ground 
from the sea-shore to these hills; and they are inaccessible, 
but by the gullies which the dissolved snow hath made. In 
these gullies grow saven bushes, which, being taken hold of, 
are a good help to the climbing discoverer. Upon the top of 
the highest of these mountains is a large level, or plain, of 
a day’s journey over, whereon nothing grows but moss. At 
the further end of this plain is another hill, called the sugar- 
loaf— to outward appearance a rude heap of mossie stones, 
piled one upon another — and you may, as you ascend, step 
from one stone to another, as if you were going up a pair of 
stairs, but winding still about the hill, till you come to the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


17 


top, which will require half a day's time; and yet it is not 
above a mile, where there is also a level of about an acre of 
ground, with a pond of clear water in the midst of it, which 
you may hear run down; but how it ascends is a mystery. 
From this rocky hill you may see the whole country round 
about. It is far above the lower clouds ; and from hence we 
behold a vapor (like a great pillar), drawn up by the sun¬ 
beams out of a great lake, or pond, into the air, where it was 
formed into a cloud. The country beyond these hills, north¬ 
ward, is daunting terrible; being full of rocky hills, as thick 
as mole-hills in a meadow, and clothed with infinite thick 
woods.” 

The mountains which have more particularly attracted the 
attention of the tourists and writers, are near the northern 
boundary of the group, extending from the “Notch,” a dis¬ 
tance of fourteen miles in a north-easterly direction. The 
different peaks of this cluster gradually increase in height 
from the outside to the centre, where towers Mount Wash¬ 
ington high above all. The lower and surrounding moun¬ 
tains are beautifully wooded to their very tops; while the 
bold Alpine summits of the central ones rise up far above 
the limits of vegetation, amid the clouds. 

The heights of the different summits, as given by Professor 
Bond, of Cambridge, are, perhaps, the most accurate. Com¬ 
mencing at the “Notch,” and giving the heights of each 
peak as it stands in the range, — Mount Webster is 4,000 
feet above the level of the sea; Jackson, 4,100; Clinton, 
4,200; Pleasant, 4,800; Franklin, 4,900; Monroe, 5,800; 
Washington, 6,500 ; Clay, 5,400 ; Adams, 5,700; Jefferson, 
5,800; Madison, 5,400. 

Approaching the central cluster from the south-east, the 
mountains gradually close upon,you, until they come to- 


18 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


gether at the gate of the “Notch. 1 ’ This gate, or chasm, 
is formed by two rocks standing perpendicular at the distance 
of twenty-two feet from each other. Here, by great labor, a 
road has been constructed on the side of a little brook, whose 
rugged bed was formerly the only opening in the mountains. 
The entrance on each side is guarded by high overhanging 
cliffs, and the walls adjoining the road rise up perpendicularly 
fifty feet. This defile was known to the Indians, who 
formerly led their captives through it to Canada; but it had 
been forgotten or neglected, till the year 1771, when two 
hunters (Nash and Sawyer) discovered and passed through 
it. 

The Notch itself is a narrow pass, about three miles in 
length, running in a north-westerly direction, turning to the 
right a little at the northern extremity. The mountains here 
are abruptly torn apart, forming a very narrow valley, through 
which flows the Saco. “ The sublime and awful grandeur 
of the Notch baffles all description. Geometry may settle the 
heights of the mountains, and numerical figures may record 
the measure; but no words can tell the emotions of the soul, 
as it looks upward and views the almost perpendicular preci¬ 
pices which line the narrow space between them; while the 
senses ache with terror and astonishment, as one sees himself 
hedged in from all the world beside. He may cast his eye 
forward or backward, or to either side — he can see only 
upward, and then the diminutive circle of his vision is cribbed 
and confined by the battlements of nature's cloud-capt 
towers, which seem as if they wanted only the breathing of a 
zephyr, or the wafting of a straw against them, to displace 
them, and crush the prisoner in their fall.” 

Facing the north, on either hand, rise up steep perpen¬ 
dicular walls, two thousand feet above the road at their base, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


19 


regular and equal, for a great part of the way. On the left 
is Mount Willey, gloomy and grand ; its sides torn and fur¬ 
rowed by the slides, and here and there abrupt ledges, over 
whose topmost edge the gathering mass of rocks and earth 
leaped into the depths below. 

On the right is Mount Webster. 11 This vast and regular 
mass rises abruptly, from the plain below, to the height of 
about two thousand feet. Its shape is that of a high fort, 
with deep scarred sides; its immense front apparently wholly 
inaccessible. Its top, nearly horizontal and rough with pre¬ 
cipitous crags, juts over with heavy and frow’ning brows; 
so mighty a mountain wall, so high, so wide, so vast, and so 
near the spectator, that all its gigantic proportions and parts 
are seen with the utmost distinctness. It fills at once the 
eye and the mind with awe, admiration, and delight. In a 
bright day, w’hen its outline at the top is seen sharp and dis¬ 
tinct against the blue sky, its gray granite cliffs and ledges 
colored with iron-brown or stained with darker shades, its 
sides seamed with long gullied slides of brow r n gravel, its wide 
beds of great loose rocks, black with lichens, contrasted with 
the summer greens, or varied autumnal colors of the trees, 
make it as beautiful and interesting in its varied hues and 
parts, as it is great and sublime in its total impression.” 

Passing through the gate of the Notch, we come to the 
valley of the Ammonoosuc; and after a distance of four 
miles, generally through a thick wood, which prevents all 
view’s of the surrounding mountains, w T e come out suddenly 
into a wide cleared opening, where the whole mountain 
cluster bursts upon our view. Standing upon an isolated 
eminence, about sixty feet in height, known as the Giant’s 
grave, the whole range of mountains is in sight. 


20 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


You stand in the centre of a broad amphitheatre of moun¬ 
tains ; the lofty pyramid of Washington, with its basin¬ 
shaped top, resembling the crater of a volcano, and its bare 
gray rock sides marked by long gullies, and lower down by 
broad slides, directly before you, while, far away on the right 
and left, Mounts Webster and Madison stand at the extrem¬ 
ities of the range. 

The tops of the mountains are covered with snow from the 
last of October to the end of May. Occasionally, during the 
months of July and August, they are almost white with a 
new-fallen snow or sleet. As the snow melts away, on most 
of the rocks may be seen mosses and lichens of various 
hues; while here and there, in the spaces sheltered by high 
rocks, beautiful and brilliant flowers, tiny alpine plants, 
spring up, mixed with the coarse mountain grass. 

“The base and sides of the mountains are clothed with a 
dense and luxurious forest of the trees of the country; and 
the ground beneath their shade is ornamented with the beau¬ 
tiful flowers of the northern woods, and deeply covered with 
a rich carpet of mosses. Below is the sugar-maple, with its 
broad angular leaves, changing early in autumn, when every 
leaf is a flower, scarlet or crimson, or variegated with green, 
yellow, and brown; the yellow birch, of great size, with its 
ragged bark, and wide-spreading arms; the beech, with its 
round trunk, its smooth bark, marbled, clouded, and em¬ 
broidered with many-colored lichens ; its stiff slender 
branches, and its glossy leaves; the white birch, with its 
smooth and white bark — most abundant in the districts for¬ 
merly burnt — showing, after its changed yellow leaves have 
fallen, its slender, wand-like white trunks ranged closely and 
regularly on the hill sides. With these are mixed a frequent, 
but generally less abundant growth of black spruces and 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


21 


balsam firs, — the tall spruce, with its stiff and ragged out¬ 
line, and horizontal branches, the fir, with its beautiful 
spires, regularly tapering from its base to its tip, and its 
dark rich foliage, often, as it grows old, hoary with the long, 
hanging, entangled tufts of the beard-moss, which here so 
abundantly covers its dying branches. Of the many other 
trees, smaller or less frequent, we will only mention the 
striped maple, the mountain ash, the aspen poplars, the hem¬ 
lock, and the white pine. Higher up, the spruce and fir be¬ 
come the prevailing growth, with the yellow and white birch, 
gradually growing smaller as they ascend, until the dwarf 
firs, closely interwoven together, and only a few feet high, 
form a dense and almost impenetrable hedge, many rods wide, 
above which project, in fantastic forms, like the horns of a 
deer, the bare, bleached tops and branches of the dead trees. 
The dwarf trees are so closely crowded and interwoven to¬ 
gether that it is as easy to walk on their tops as to struggle 
through them on the ground; and the road is made by re¬ 
moving them with their roots. Above this hedge of dwarf 
trees, which is about four thousand feet above the level of the 
sea, the scattered fir and spruce bushes, shrinking from the 
cold mountain wind, and clinging to the ground in sheltered 
hollows by the side of the rocks, with a few similar bushes of 
white and yellow birch, reach almost a thousand feet higher. 
Above are only alpine plants, mosses, and lichens.” 

Over the mountains are scattered a variety of berries, 
such as cranberries, whortleberries, and several other kinds. 
They grow high up the mountains, and some of them far 
above any other vegetable, except grass and moss. Their 
flower is, however, very different from those of the plain. 
Even the whortleberry, which grows on these hills, has, in 
its ripest state, considerable acidity. 


22 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


The vicissitudes of sunshine and shade are here very fre¬ 
quent, not exactly like the shadows flying over the plains ; 
for here the individual is actually enveloped in the cloud, 
while there it only passes over him. The cloud is discovered 
at a considerable distance, rolling along on the surface of 
the mountain; it approaches you rapidly; in an instant it 
encircles you, and as soon passes away, to be followed by 
others in endless succession. These phenomena are pre¬ 
sented only when the clouds are light and scattered. When 
they are surcharged with rain, even at mid-day, all is darkness 
and gloom. 

Although the waters of these hills apparently give life to 
no animal or insect, yet, in the heat of summer, the black 
fly, a little, tormenting insect, is very troublesome. At 
the same time, the grasshopper is here as gay as on the 
finely-cultivated field. The swallow, too, appears to hold his 
flight as high over these mountains as over the plain. It is, 
however, a place of extreme solitude. The eye often wan¬ 
ders in vain to catch something that has life and animation; 
yet a bear has been known to rise up, even in this solitude, 
to excite and to terrify the traveller. 

Says a correspondent of the New York Express, writing 
from the top of Mount Washington : u I have seen but few 
birds here, and they do not tarry long after getting here; 
the ground-sparrow and plover are the only species I have 
noticed. Insects are quite plenty, and of various kinds. 
The honey-bee and humble-bee occasionally find the way up 
here, but are not plenty. There are scarcely any of the com¬ 
mon house-fly here, but a large blue fly, and another of a bright 
gold color, are exceedingly plenty in warm days, but the 
first fog that arises scatters them, and they are not seen 
again for several days.” 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


23 


The dead trees, slightly referred to by Oakes, are deserv¬ 
ing of more notice. From different persons these trees have 
received different names. Some call them buck’s horns, and 
others bleached bones. The winds and weather have ren¬ 
dered them perfectly white; and, as neither the stem nor 
branches take any definite direction, they are of all the diver¬ 
sified forms which nature, in her freaks, can create. The 
cold seasons, which prevailed from 1812 to the end of 1816, 
probably occasioned the death of these trees ; and their con¬ 
stant exposure to the fierce winds which prevail on the moun¬ 
tains has, aided by other causes, rendered them white. It 
can hardly be doubted that, during the whole of the year 
1816, these trees continued frozen; and frost, like fire, is 
capable of extinguishing life, even in the vegetable kingdom. 
Fire could not have caused the death of these trees ; for fire 
will not spread here, in consequence of the humidity of the 
whole region at this elevation. 

The mountains, seen, with their well-defined outlines and 
shapes, in a clear day, present not the only aspect in which to 
behold them. Clouds sailing up their long ranges, now float¬ 
ing along their sides, severing their summits from their base, 
now settling down and capping their peaks, now drooping 
down still lower, till rock, and moss, and flower, and luxu¬ 
riantly wooded base, are all hid in the dun, thick pall; then, 
bursting and fleeing with a wind-like speed, as the storm 
clears up, and the mountains come out, their wet sides glis¬ 
tening. in the returning rays of the sun, like huge piles of 
burnished silver, give to the rugged heights an aspect of 
beauty unsurpassed. The mountains are seldom seen free 
from clouds. Light, fleecy vapors are almost continually 
hovering about the different peaks. 

By moonlight, in those clear, autumnal evenings, when the 


24 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


full, round moon looks so calmly down, throwing the shad¬ 
ows of the mighty giants broadly over the valleys, peopling 
each hidden nook and lurking ravine with grotesque forms 
and superstitious fancies, gazing on those majestic heights, 
one almost involuntarily repeats the matchless lines of Col¬ 
eridge : — 

“ Thou, most awful form, 

Risest from forth thy silent sea of pines, 

How silently ! Around thee and above 
Deep is the air, and dark, substantial black, 

An ebon mass ; methinks thou piercest it 
As with a wedge ! But when I look again, 

It is their own calm home, thy crystal shrine, 

Thy habitation from eternity ! 

0, dread and silent mount! I gaze upon thee, 

Till thou, still present to the bodily sense, 

Didst vanish from my thought ; entranced in prayer 
I worshipped the invisible alone.” 

Nor in winter are they destitute of beauty. Their white 
summits standing out so distinctly from the deep blue depth 
of sky in the background, the trees around their sides and 
base loaded with ice, glistening in the dazzling rays of the 
sun like the enchanted diamond and jewelled halls of Eastern 
story, the reflecting and glittering of the moonbeams upon 
the frozen crust, all give to them a bewildering splendor in¬ 
describable. 

The slides now seen at the White Mountains are mostly 
those which took place in the year 1826. At the Notch they 
present the appearance of deep gullies a few rods wide. On 
Mount Washington and the higher peaks many of the slides 
are a quarter or a half a mile in width. The amount of mat¬ 
ter torn in that one night of dreadful storm from the moun¬ 
tains, and hurled into the valleys below, is incalculable. 
Thousands of acres of rocks, and earth, and trees, slipped from 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


25 


their fastening, and were thrown into the valleys. As seen 
from a distance of twenty or thirty miles, they look like long 
roads, winding up the mountains in all directions. 

From the summit of Mount Washington the eye com¬ 
mands the circumference of the entire group of mountains. 
You stand in the centre, looking down upon a multitudinous 
sea of ridges and peaks, here extending out in long ranges, 
enclosing broad valleys, through which wind rivers, glitter¬ 
ing amid the forest and settlement like polished metal, now 
towering up like insulated cones, now grouped together like 
loving friends. 

“ In the west, through the blue haze, are seen in the dis¬ 
tance the ranges of the Green Mountains; the remarkable 
outlines of the summits of Camel’s Hump and Mansfield 
Mountain being easily distinguished when the atmosphere is 
clear. To the north-west, under your feet, are the clearings 
and settlement of Jefferson, and the waters of Cherry Pond; 
and, further distant, the village of Lancaster, with the 
waters of Israel’s river. The Connecticut is barely visible, 
and often its appearance for miles is counterfeited by the 
fog rising from its surface. To the north and north-east, 
only a few miles distant, rise up boldly the great north-east¬ 
ern peaks of the White Mountain range, — Jefferson, Ad¬ 
ams, and Madison, — with their ragged tops of loose, dark 
rocks. A little further to the east are seen the numerous 
and distant summits of the mountains of Maine. On the 
south-east, close at hand, are the dark and crowded ridges of 
the mountains of Jackson; and, beyond the conical summit 
of Kearsarge, standing by itself, on the outskirts of the 
mountains, and, further over the low country of Maine, Se~ 
bago Pond, near Portland. Still further, it is said, the ocean 
itself has sometimes been distinctly visible. 

3 


26 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“ The White Mountains are often seen from the sea, even at 
thirty miles distance from the shore; and nothing can pre¬ 
vent the sea from being seen from the mountains, hut the 
difficulty of distinguishing its appearance from that of the 
sky near the horizon. 

“Further to the south are the intervales of the Saco, and 
the settlements of Bartlett and Conway, the sister ponds of 
Lovell in Fryeburg, and, still further, the remarkable four¬ 
toothed summit of the Chocorua, the peak to the right being 
much the largest, and sharply pyramidical. Almost exactly 
south are the shining waters of the beautiful Winnipisogee, 
seen with the greatest distinctness in a favorable day. To 
the south-west, near at hand, are the peaks of the south¬ 
western range of the White Mountains; Monroe, wdth its 
two little alpine ponds sleeping under its rocky and pointed 
summit; the flat surface of Franklin, and the rounded top of 
Pleasant, with their ridges and spurs. Beyond these, the 
Willey Mountain, with its high, ridged summit; and, beyond 
that, several parallel ranges of high wooded mountains. Fur¬ 
ther west, and over all, is seen the high, bare summit of 
Mount Lafayette in Franconia. 75 

The appearance of the mountains and the surrounding 
country at sunrise is worth the journey and toil from any 
part of the country to witness. In the language of the elo¬ 
quent Brydone, “ The whole eastern horizon is gradually 
lighted up. The sun's first golden ray, as he emerges from 
the ocean, strikes the eye, and sheds a glimmering but un¬ 
certain light; but soon his broad disc diffuses light and 
beauty, first on the hills, and soon on the region eastward. 
The sides of the mountains fronting him appear like a solid 
mass of gold dazzling by its brightness. While this process 
is going on to the eastward, the whole country to the west- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


27 


ward is shrouded with darkness and gloom. The eye turns 
away from this comfortless scene, to the gay and varied one 
to the eastward. If this prospect is beheld immediately after 
a rain, the tops of a thousand hills rise above the fogs, ap¬ 
pearing like so many islands in the midst of a mighty ocean. 
As these mists clear away, the houses, the villages, and the 
verdant fields within the circle of vision, arise to view. At 
the moment of the sun’s rising, the noble vale of the Con¬ 
necticut, which stretches along from the north till it is lost 
among the hills at the south-west, appears like an inland sea. 
This is occasioned by the vapors which had ascended from 
the river during the night. As the sun advances in his 
course, these vapors are chased away by his rays, and the 
farms in Jefferson, Bethlehem, and Lancaster, with its village, 
appear as if rising by magic from what but a little time 
before seemed nothing but water. The various hills, in the 
mean time, which surround the mountains, appear to be 
arranged in many concentric circles; and the circle the fur¬ 
thest removed seems the highest and most distinct, giving 
to the whole an air of order and grandeur beyond the power 
of description.” 

From this lofty summit the Indians had a tradition that 
Passaconaway, a powerful chief, famed to hold a conference 
with the spirits above, once passed to a council in heaven. 

“ A wondrous wight! For o’er ’Siogee’s ice, 

With brindled wolves, all harnessed three and three, 

High seated on a sledge, made in a trice, 

i 

On Mount Ogiocochook, of hickory. 

He lashed and reeled, and sung right jollily ; 

And once upon a car of flaming fire, 

The dreadful Indian shook with fear to see 
The king of Penacook, his chief, his sire, 

Ride flaming up towards heaven, than any mountain higher.” 




CHAPTER II. 

MOUNTAINS CONTINUED. 

TIIE MANY OBJECTS OF INTEREST.-THE GREAT GULF.-OAKES’ GULF.- 

TUCKERMAN’S RAVINE. -SNOW CAVERN.-SOURCE OF THE MANY SPRINGS 

ON THE MOUNTAINS. — SACO AND MERRIMAC RIVERS.-ELLIS AND PEA¬ 
BODY RIVERS. — CASCADES.-SILVER CASCADE.-THE FLUME. — THE 

DEVIL’S DEN. -CRYSTAL FALLS. -GLEN ELLIS FALLS. -AMMONOOSUC. 

-FALLS OF THE AMMONOOSUC. -FRANCONIA MOUNTAINS.-MOUNT LA¬ 
FAYETTE. -EAGLE CLIFF.-CANNON MOUNT.-OLD MAN OF THE MOUN¬ 
TAINS. - PROFILE LAKE.-OPTICAL ILLUSION FROM CANNON MOUNT. - 

ECHO LAKE. - THE BASIN. — THE FLUME. -THE POOL. - NARROW ES¬ 

CAPE FROM A FALL INTO THE POOL. 


“ Ye crags and peaks, I ’m with you once again.” 

It would be vain to attempt a description of all tbe curious 
localities of interest connected with these mountains. Wan¬ 
der over them ever so much, and fresh wonders and beauties 
are continually being discovered. Prom no two points does the 
collected mountain-group present the same appearance to the 
beholder; while each separate mount will well repay the 
toil and labor of climbins; its ru^o-ed sides. 

Some of the most striking and peculiar scenery among the 
mountains are the deep ravines and hollows immediately 
surrounding Mount Washington. Leaving the old Fabyan 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


29 


road, the first path cut out by Ethan A. Crawford, from tho 
old Rosebrook-place, not far from the summit of Mount 
Washington, and going a few rods northward, you come to 
the brink of an almost unfathomable abyss, known as the 
Great Gulf. It is a rocky, precipitous descent of two thou¬ 
sand feet. Rising up opposite you from the bottom of this 
Gulf, almost perpendicularly, is the great range of mountains, 
comprising Clay, Jefferson, Adams and Madison. This vast 
range may be seen from their roots to their summits by one 
standing on the brink. Deep down in the very bottom of the 
hollow are rough, confused piles of rocks, with narrow and 
deeply-worn ravines between them. Springing up occasion¬ 
ally, near the very base of the mountain range, are tall spruces, 
-while further up on their sides are birches and small fir- 
bushes. Toward the east, the Gulf has an opening, sur¬ 
rounded on all its other sides by mountains. 

Winding round the double-headed summit of Mount 
Monroe, far down on the right, is another seemingly bottom¬ 
less abyss, known as Oakes’ Gulf. It presents nearly the 
same general characteristics as the last —huge, rough boulders 
covering the lowest depths, while trees and bushes cover the 
steep and craggy sides, wherever the crevices contain soil 
enough to support vegetation. At times the wind drives the 
thick mist into these gulfs, filling them, like a u huge caldron, 
with dark-blue vapor, whirling and eddying round their 
sides.” 

Tuckerman’s Ravine, on the eastern side of the mountains, 
for wildness and grandeur is unsurpassed. Ascending the 
mountains by the Davis road, from the Mount Crawford 
House, it lies to the right of the road, as it passes over the 
high spur immediately south-east of Mount Washington. 
Leaving the path, after arriving at the top of the spur, and 

3 * 


30 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

turning to the right, you stand upon the edge of the ravine. 
Descending its rough, steep sides a great distance, you reach 
the bottom. It is a long, deep, narrow hollow; its craggy 
walls in many places almost perpendicular, and wholly inac¬ 
cessible. A small stream runs through its whole length, 
forming beautiful cascades after a storm. In this valley, hut 
above the ravine, is the great plain from which the ascent to 
the top of Mount Washington was formerly made. Early 
explorers always ascended from the eastern side of the 
mountains. 

In winter all the snow which blows from Mount Wash¬ 
ington lodges in this ravine, filling it to the depth of 
hundreds of feet. 

“Huge recess, 

That keeps till June December’s snows.” 

As the warm weather approaches, the little brook thaws 
out upon the sides of the mountain, and gradually works 
its way through the vast mass covering its bed, forming a 
complete arch of pure snow. This arch continues to enlarge 
until the last of summer, when the intense heat and warm 
rains melt it away. 

Last year the engineer of the White Mountain Carriage 
Road, measured the arch, and found it to be 180 feet long, 
84 feet wide, and 40 feet high, on the inside; and 266 feet 
long, and 40 feet wide, on the outside. The snow forming 
the arch was tv r enty feet thick. The engineer w r ent through this 
arch in the bed of the brook, to the foot of the cataract, 
which falls a thousand feet down the side of the mountain. 
This was done in July. 

Nor for beauty and grandeur were those bold summits 
reared so far up among the clouds. New England ow'es to 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


31 


her granite peaks more than to her extensive commerce and 
flourishing trade. Her thousand mills, and the ripening 
harvest of her hardy husbandmen, are the offspring of these 
Alpine cliffs. Wealth and health flow from their sides; and 
liberty is always safe among their passes. 

“The immense bed of moss,’’ says Belknap, “which 
covers these mountains, serves as a sponge to retain the 
moisture brought by the clouds and vapors which are 
frequently rising and gathering round the mountains. The 
thick growth of w'ood prevents the rays of the sun from pen¬ 
etrating to exhale it; so that there is a constant supply of 
water deposited in the crevices of the rocks, and issuing in 
the form of springs from every part of the mountains.'’ 

From the springs originate some of the largest and finest 
rivers in New England. Barren themselves, these moun¬ 
tains send wealth and fertility to five different states. On 
the southern side, the Saco and the Merrimac. — 

* 

“ Two rills wliicli from one fountain flow, 

But eastward one, the other westward hies ; 

Both to a common goal their journey go, — 

But this one’s path along green meadows lies, 

Through flowery banks, and under softest skies ; — 

That o’er its rocky bed, with turbid flow, 

Mid noise and tumult to the ocean flics.” 

On the eastern side, Ellis and Peabody rivers start their 
downward courses so near together that they may be stepped 
across at one stride. On the western side, far up on the 
mountains, at the “Lake of the Clouds,” starts the Ammo- 
noosuc, a tributary of the Connecticut. The streams on the 
eastern side run parallel with the ranges of mountains; 
while on the western side they run at right angles. 


32 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

Cascades innumerable are formed by these brooks and riv¬ 
ulets as they come tumbling down the mountains. The 
glittering of these different falls in the moonbeams, Dr. 
Belknap thinks, gave rise to the idea of the huge carbuncles, 
the superstitious Indians saw suspended over the steep pre¬ 
cipices and cliffs. These cascades are unrivalled in their 
romantic beauty. 

About half a mile from the gate of the Notch, on the 
southern side, is seen the Silver Cascade, issuing from the 
mountain on the right, about eight hundred feet above the 
adjacent valley, and about two miles distant. It is said to be 
one of the most beautiful in the world. Ordinarily it is but a 
mere rill, falling over high perpendicular ledges, with sufficient 
current to make it perfectly white. The following, an excel¬ 
lent description, is from the pen of Mr. D. P. Pages : 
11 Imagine yourself, gentle reader, standing upon a narrow 
bridge, under which one of these cascades finds its way to 
the Saco, now on your left. Away, for more than a mile to 
your right, and far up toward the summit of the mountains, 
you see the silver thread of falling water, now still, now 
tremulous, glittering in the sunbeams. Now it disappears 
behind a crag, and now it struggles on amid some broken 
rocks ; anon it approaches an abrupt precipice, from which it 
gayly leaps off, scattering its pearls and gems in rich pro¬ 
fusion, as it salutes the rock below. Now it flows on; for a 
moment slowly, through a little pool in the lofty hill-side: now 
again, in a dozen streamlets, it is seen gushing forth, among 
the fragments of rock, and thence seems to slide for a lonor 
distance down the unbroken surface of the smooth ledge. 
Thence it dashes among the rocks, throwing its whitened 
spray above them; again it falls over a projecting brink, and 
plunges murmuring into another basin. Once more it quickly 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


38 


issues from this enclosure, as if enraged at every obstruction. 
On it rushes, dashing, eagerly pressing its way, and becoming 
more noisy at every step. It is now within fifty yards, and 
has disappeared behind a thicket. You hear again a plunge 
and a rush, and the enraged current has burst forth, foaming 
and bounding along at your very feet. You almost feel the 
bridge tremble beneath you; and as you turn toward your 
left you see the mountain-torrent tumble noisily into the 
bosom of the Saco. You pass on a little, and what a moment 
ago was boisterous noise, occasioned by the angry rush of 
many waters, is now hushed and softened into a gentle 
murmur, and you would almost fall asleep, soothed by the 
richest strains of the music of the waters.” 

Further down from the Notch is a second cascade, called 
the Flume. It falls a distance of two hundred and fifty 
feet over three precipices. It falls in a single current over 
two precipices, when it divides and falls over a third steep 
in three currents, and unites them all again in a small basin 
formed in the rocks at the bottom. 

Opposite to these cascades stands Mount Willard. Near 
its top is the mouth of a large cavern, called the “ Devil’s 
Den.” Curiosity was formerly on tiptoe to know what was 
in it. Perhaps, proceeding inward a few steps, passages 
and steps led down into the very bowels of the mountain. 
Who knew but within these hollow shells, chambers and halls 
ample and brilliant were waiting to be explored ? Perhaps, 
winding along the thousand passages, one might reach the 
hollow cavities of Mount Washington — might stand upon the 
edge of some almost boundless abyss, from whence issued 
forth the force which threw the mighty giant far aloft in air. 
A venturous young gentleman, some years since, thought to 
satisfy curiosity on this point. Ropes and tackling were 


34 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


carried to, the top of the mountain, and stout companions 
lowered him down to the mouth. As he neared the dark 
opening, bones and skulls were seen. Perhaps it was a den; 
could he not see eyes ? 

“ Ere long they come, where that same wicked wight 
His dwelling has, low in a hollow cave, 

Far underneath a craggy cliff, ypight, 

Dark, doleful, dreary, like a greedy grave, 

That still for carrion carcasses doth crave ; 

On top whereof, aye dwelt the ghastly owl, 

Shrieking his baneful note, which ever drave 
Far from that haunt all other cheerful fowl ; 

And all about it wandering ghosts did wail and howl. 

* * * * * * 

* * * * Arrived there, 

That barehead knight, for dread and doleful teen. 

Would fain have fled ; he durst approachen near.” 

Having, however, sufficient strength to give the signal, he 
was soon with his friends on the summit. 

On the eastern side of the mountain are two falls which 
should not he forgotten. Near fCuckerman’s Ravine, before 
mentioned, Peabody’s river and Ellis river descend from 
the mountain in parallel courses, until they reach the valley, 
when both turn at right angles; Peabody river, flowing north¬ 
east, a tributary of the Androscoggin; Ellis river, south¬ 
east, a tributary of the Saco river. 

Some hundred rods from the angle Ellis river forms in 
changing its course, in a secluded ravine to the left of the 
present road, as you go from Jackson to the Glen Plouse, 
the little stream comes foaming down over the rocks most 
romantically and noisily. From its high starting-point, 
winding round amid the rocks and low undergrowth, through 
hidden recesses and glens, it has scarcely seen the day until 




























































































































CRYSTAL FAILS, PIN KHAM NOTCH. GLEN ELLIS FALLS.PINKHAM NOTCH 






















INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


35 


it reaches the chasm between the pilecl-up rocks, and comes 
tumbling over the steep ledges and projections. 

The fall, is eighty feet, though not in one unbroken descent. 
About half the distance up is a shelf, or stair, on which the 
water strikes, rebounding in copious showers of spray, and 
rushing over the projection with greatly expanded surface. 
This has been known as the Crystal Falls. 

But a short distance from this, further down the Ellis 
river, on the right of the road, are other falls, more nearly 
resembling Silver Cascade, known as “ Glen Ellis Falls.” 
The water here falls seventy feet in a narrow bed between 
very steep and precipitous rocky cliffs on either hand. The 
basin below T looks like a deep 'well amid the hills, open only 
on one side. It was known formerly as “ Pitcher Falls.” 

The Ammonoosuc is the most rapid, violent, wildest river 
in New Hampshire. It falls six thousand feet from its source 
on the mountain, to w 7 here it enters the Connecticut. The 
whole distance of thirty miles is over rough, craggy rocks, 
and down steep perpendicular precipices. Cascades innu¬ 
merable are formed along its whole course. There are several 
thirty or forty feet in height. One has attracted much 
attention. 

About a mile from where stood the Mount Washington 
House, to the westward, on the way to Littleton, may be 
seen the falls of the Ammonoosuc from the road. Bursting 
forth from a forest of pines, the waters come tumbling over 
large broad granite shelves, laid with all the order and regu¬ 
larity of the most finished masonry. Through these succes¬ 
sive layers, the stream has worn its bed; at places the edges 
of the layers looking like the stone abutments of large 
bridges; at other points the layers are pulled up and broken 
off, forming broad flat steps, over w'hich the -water comes 


36 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

foaming like boiling torrents, where rains have filled the 
channel. These layers are frequently many yards in extent, 
and from a few inches to a foot in thickness. The height of 
the fall is thirty feet, and, when the water is very high, it is 
tossed at the base into heaps as large as haycocks. 

The Franconia Mountains, another group of the White 
Mountains, situated near their north-western boundary, are 
inferior only to the more central cluster. The Great Hay¬ 
stack, or Mount Lafayette, the highest peak in this range, 
is 5,200 feet high. The mountains are situated on each side 
of a narrow valley, through which flows the Pemmasawasset 
river. At one point they approach to within half a mile, 
and, rising up very steep and abrupt from their base, form a 
narrow pass, which has been called the Franconian Notch. 

The mountains in their general features resemble those of 
the central range of which we have spoken; their bases 
thickly wooded and their summits bare rock, beaten and 
furrowed by time and storm. The view from Mount La¬ 
fayette is as extensive and varied as that from Mount 
Washington itself. Near Lafayette is Eagle Cliff, so called 
from a pair of eagles, a few years since, having built their 
nest on its inaccessible sides. 

Cannon Mountain, nearly facing Lafayette, and forming 
the western side of the Notch, has on its southern side one 
of the greatest curiosities in the world. Huge rocks are so 
piled up on its steep, precipitous sides, as to form to the 
beholder the exact outline of the human face. 

Said an eccentric speaker, at a celebration a few years 
since in Fryburg, u Men put out signs representing their 
different trades ; jewellers hang out a monster watch; shoe¬ 
makers, a huge boot; and, up in Franconia, God Almighty 
has hung out a sign that in New England he makes men.” 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


37 


The top of the mountain is about 2,000 feet above the 
level of the road, and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
Near the summit, an oblong rock resembling a cannon has 
given a name to the mountain. The sides are covered with 
a thick growth of maple, beech, birch, and spruce. 

The Profile Rock itself is more than 1,200 feet above the 
level of the road; it being situated far below the summit of 
the mountain. The profile is composed of three separate 
masses of rock, one of which forms the forehead, the second 
the nose and upper lip, and the third the chin. Only at one 
particular place are they brought into their proper position, 
which is on the road leading: through the Notch, about a 
quarter of a mile south of the Lafayette House. The ex¬ 
pression of the face, as it stands out in bold relief against the 
sky, is quite stern. The mouth alone betrays any signs of 
age and feebleness. But the “ Old Man of the Mountains” 
has never been known to flinch. “He neither blinks at the 
near flashes of the lightning beneath his nose, nor flinches 
from the driving snow and sleet of the Franconia winter, 
which makes the mercury of the thermometer shrink into the 
bulb and congeal.” 

Passing down the road from the particular spot where it 
can be seen in perfection, the Old Man’s countenance changes 
first into a “ toothless old woman in a mob cap,” and soon the 
profile is entirely lost. In passing up the road, the nose and 
face flatten until the forehead alone is seen. 

The length of the profile, from the top of the forehead to 
the lowest point of the chin, is eighty feet. The face looks 
towards the south-east, and is perhaps half a mile distant 
from the observer in the road. 

At the base of the mountain, directly beneath the Old 
Man’s eye, is a quiet little pond about a quarter of a mile in 

4 


38 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTOKY. 


length, and half as wide, called Profile Lake. Its waters 
are destitute of fish. It was never frequented by the Indians 
from fear of the stern image reflected in it. 

Oakes speaks of a beautiful optical illusion to he seen 
from the summit of Cannon Mountain. 

“In a bright day in October, a most delightful optical 
illusion may be seen over the summit of the mountain, which 
I first noticed in the autumn of 1845, while looking with a 
spy-glass, and which I have since often seen. Near the 
middle of the afternoon, when the sun has just sunk behind 
the top of the mountain, the spruce and fir trees seen against 
the sky near the sun, and a large space of the sky above 
them, are bathed in a pure golden light, bright and intense, 
in which the branches and trunks of the trees are distinctly 
visible; but of the same brightness as the surrounding space, 
as if they were transparent gold. Around this mountain 
pyre I saw hovering, floating and gliding, issuing and 
returning, with the most graceful motion, beautiful white 
birds, like the departed spirits of eastern fire-worshippers 
around the element they adore. I found, at last, that these 
phantom-birds were thistle down, wafted over the lake by the 
gentle south wind, in reality quite near the eye, but only 
visible in the light at the top of the mountain. 

‘ I took it for a fairy vision 
Of some gay creatures of the element. 

That in the colors of the rainbow live. 

And play in the plighted clouds. ’ ” 

North of the Cannon Mountain, beneath Eagle Cliff, is 
the small, but exceedingly deep pond, called Echo Lake. It 
is entirely surrounded by mountains. From the centre of 
this lake the voice in common conversation will echo two or 



ECHO LAKE FRANCONIA. NOTCH 



































































* 






















INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


39 


three times distinctly, while the firing of a gun is like the 
discharge of a park of artillery. No wonder the poor Indian 
thought the heard the war-whoop of the Gods sounding, 
during his wild carousals. 

One pleasant morning, in the summer of 1850, a friend and 
myself pushed out into this little pond. Around us on all 
sides the clear water reflected back the high cliffs in all their 
beauty and wildness. As we gave a loud halloo, the moun¬ 
tains directly before us gave back the cry, like an army of 
men shouting from its summit. As that died away, the moun¬ 
tain behind us caught up the sound, and returned it like the 
shouting of an opposing army; and, as that died out, the 
hills upon our right and left tossed back and forth the 
lessening shout, until it could be heard far off taking its 
flight. The several echoes are very distinct, and each 
commences as the preceding closes. 

Five miles south of Franconia Notch, in the town of 
Lincoln, are very interesting curiosities. 

Near the road-side the Pemmasawasset river has worn, in 
the solid rock which forms its bed, a very curious cavity, 
known as the Basin. It is forty feet in diameter, and twenty- 
eight feet from the edge to the bottom of the water. The 
water, rushing in with great force at one side, whirled rocks 
round in its current, until it has worn the solid rock to its 
present shape and depth. It is almost perfectly circular, and 
the w'ater rushes round it several times with great velocity 
before it goes out at the opposite side. It would take a 
strong swimmer to buffet its waters. The water itself is 
usually ten or twelve feet deep. The sides above the water 
are very smooth and regular, and the bottom is strewn with 
rocks bright and round. The water, as it falls over the brink 
into the cavity, forms a beautiful cascade, white with foam. 


40 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

The lower margin of the basin where the water passes out, 
worn off by the current, has been formed into a very striking 
representation of a human leg and foot. 

During a freshet, the whole basin is filled by a foaming, 
whirling torrent, of great quantity and force. 

Leaving the road just below the basin, and turning to the 
left up among the hills, after nearly a mile’s walk, you come 
upon a slightly-inclined granite ledge, more than one hun¬ 
dred feet in length, and thirty feet wide, bare, solid, and 
very smooth. Over this runs a small stream — now mur¬ 
muring along in a narrow, shallow bed, and now spread out 
over the whole width. 

Near the top of the ledge you enter what has been called 
“The Flume.” Twenty feet apart rise up perpendicular walls 
of solid' rock, fifty feet in height. The uplifted walls were 
evidently split apart far back in time by some convulsion in 
nature; in many places the projections on one side corre¬ 
sponding with like depressions on the opposite. Through this 
vast and regular fissure flows the little stream we have just 
mentioned; its bed so narrow as to afford sufficient room for 
dry footing through the entire extent. These walls are cov¬ 
ered with a green moss, and, within, the air is very damp and 
cool. This recess is several hundred feet long, gradually 
narrowing to the upper extremity, where it is but ten or 
eleven feet wide. 

About midway, a huge boulder, weighing several tons, has 
rolled down from the top of the cliff, and caught in its 
descent in a somewhat narrower space, and remains suspended 
half-way down between the perpendicular walls. Several 
years ago a pine-tree fell across the Flume, near its top, and 
its trunk forms a rude and dangerous bridge over the chasm- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 41 

Near the Flume is a deep natural well in the solid rock. 
A small stream flows over its northern brink, finding egress 
in a narrow opening opposite. It is more than one hundred 
and fifty feet from the brink of the well to the surface of the 
water below. The diameter of this “Pool” is about sixty 
feet. The water in the bottom is about forty feet deep, and 
greatly agitated. 

Several years since, a gentleman from New Orleans made 
a misstep and fell into this pool. Though the water was icy 
cold, and he was encumbered with his clothes, he had presence 
of mind to swim to a crag of the rock on a level with the 
water. There were no means of ascent except by ropes, 
which were procured by friends who were with him at the 
time of the fall. He fastened a rope round his body, and 
was raised aloft, drenched and bruised; but the only human 
thing, we presume, that ever came from the pool alive after 
such a fall. 

These are but a few, and imperfectly described, of the 
many interesting localities among the mountains. They 
should be seen to be appreciated — the mighty monarch with 
all the noble cliffs clustering around him. 

Heaven bless him, with all his sun, moon and stars ! Call 
him the noblest of “ the mountain kings.” “ His subjects are 
princes, and gloriously they range around him, stretching 
high, wide, and far away; yet all owing visible allegiance 
to their sole and undisputed sovereign. The setting and 
rising sun do him homage. Peace loves to dwell within his 
shadows; but high among the precipices are the halls of 
the storms.” 


4 * 



CHAPTER III. 

THE INDIANS. 

THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE MANY TRADITIONS. - TIIE SUPERSTITIONS OF THE 

INDIANS-PROBABLE CAUSE OF THOSE SUPERSTITIONS. — TRADITION OF A 

FLOOD.-GREAT TREASURES OF GOLD AND GEMS. — SEARCH FOR TREAS¬ 
URES.— THE PARTICULAR TRIBES INHABITING THE MOUNTAINS. -INDIAN 

RELICS IN CONWAY - IN OSSirEE-IN FRYBURG. -THE SOKOKIS.- 

THEIR DESTRUCTION BY THE PESTILENCE. — ACCOUNT OF VINES.-OF HIS VIS¬ 
IT TO THEM. -SQUANDO.-DEATH OF HIS CHILD.-ASSACUMBUIT.-VISIT 

TO FRANCE.-DESTRUCTION OF HAVERHILL.-POLAN.-WHITTIER’S VERSES 

ON HIS BURIAL. — CHOCORUA. -HIS CURSE. -ANASAGUNTICOOKS. - 

THEIR CHIEFS. -HON. ENOCH LINCOLN’S INTEREST IN INDIANS OF THIS RE¬ 
GION.— VISIT OF GOV. LINCOLN TO NATALLUCK.—INDIAN MYTH.-THE 

LITTLE INDIAN INFANT.-CURIOUS MARRIAGE CUSTOM 


^ “ For many a tale 

Traditionary, round the mountain hung, 

And many a legend, peopling the dark woods.” 

Tiie Indian history of the White Mountains, as elsewhere, 
is involved in mystery. From the many myths and tales but 
few reliable facts can be obtained. That powerful tribes once 
lived beneath the shadow of their heights, once hunted these 
valleys, not only tradition, but their remains attest. But 
their ancient encampments, their favorite retreats, the hills 
they were accustomed to ascend, and the w r aters they dare 
fish, are unknown. 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


43 


The highest peaks they never dared ascend. They peo¬ 
pled these mountains with beings of a superior rank, who 
were invisible to the human eye, but sometimes indicated 
their presence by tempests, which they were believed to con¬ 
trol with absolute authority. The ascent they deemed not only 
perilous, but impossible. 

And to one who has visited the mountains, and heard their 
singularly loud and almost deafening echo, the fears of the 
superstitious savages may not seem entirely without founda¬ 
tion. The terrific thunder-showers, which frequently occur 
among these cliffs, are enough to startle the boldest. To 

“ The poor Indian, whose untutored mind 
Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind,” 

these storms were appalling beyond expression. Trembling 
with fright, he sees the evil spirits of his imagination, on 
their dark black clouds, gathering around these lofty sum¬ 
mits, where 


“ Unusual darkness broods. ... A reddening gloom, 

.A boding silence reigns 

Dread through the dun expanse : save the dull sound, 
That from the mountains, previous to the storm, 

Rolls o’er the muttering earth, disturbs the flood, 

And shakes the forest leaf, without a breath, 

’T is listening fear, and dumb amazement all ; 

When to the startled eye the sudden glance 
Appears — eruptive through the cloud, 

* rd following shower in explosion vast. 

The thunder raises his tremendous voice, v 
******* 

Amid Carnarvon’s mountain ngi.. 

The repercussive roar ; with mighty crush. 

Into tne flashing deep, irom. the rude r«> 

Of Penmanmaur heaped hideous to the sky, 



44 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


Tumble the smitten cliffs ; and Snowden’s peak, 

Dissolving, instant yields his wintry load.” 

Slides must have occurred before the ones in 1826, judg¬ 
ing from appearances of the mountains, but where, or how 
extensive, we know not. Traditions of these existed, un¬ 
doubtedly, among the Indians, tending greatly to increase 
their fear and veneration. The suddenness and violence of 
the storms they had themselves witnessed, and the exaggerated 
tradition of still more violent ones experienced by their fath¬ 
ers, had produced a fear they could never overcome. Darby 
Field, the first explorer of the mountains, not only could not 
persuade them to accompany him 

“ To those mountains, white and cold, 

Of which the Indian trapper told, 

Upon whose summits never yet 
Was mortal foot in safety set 

but they were most earnest in their entreaties for him not to 
undertake the daring feat, and thus so stir up the wrath of the 
Gods. 

A tradition, similar to what has been found to exist amoner 
most savage tribes, concerning a deluge having once over¬ 
spread the land, prevailed among the Indians. Every human 
being was destroyed, and the world was drowned, save the 
White Mountains, where a single powow and his wife retreated 
and were saved. These mountains they climbed, found pro¬ 
tection from the rising water, and thus preserved the race 
from extermination. 

Suspended at immense heights over the precipices, and be¬ 
yond the reach of human hands, the Indians saw huge car¬ 
buncles, which, in the darkness of night, shone with the most 
brilliant splendor. 

And even among the early settlers, vast treasures, guarded 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


45 


by evil spirits, were supposed to be hidden among the hills. 
Says Ethan A. Crawford: “Ireco kxrambei ^ ago, 
when quite a boy, some persons had been unon the hills, and 
said they hud found »• golden treasure or carbuncle, which 
tl y said was under a large, shelving rock, and would be dim- 
cult to obtain, for they might fill and be dashed to pieces. 
Moreover, they thought it was guarded by an evil spirit, sup¬ 
posing that it had been placed there by the Indians, and that 
they had killed one of their number, and left him to guard the 
treasure; which some credulous, superstitious persons believed, 
and they got my father to engage to go and search for it. 
Providing themselves with everything necessary for the busi¬ 
ness, and a sufficient number of good men, and a minister 
well qualified to lay the evil spirit, they set out in good 
earnest and high spirits, anticipating with pleasure how rich 
they should be in coming home laden with gold; that is, if 
they should have the good luck to find it. They set out, and 
went up Dry river, and had hard work to find their way 
through the thickets and over the hills, where they made dil¬ 
igent search for a number of days, with some of the former 
men spoken of for guides; but they could not find the place 
again, nor anything that seemed to be like it, until, worn out 
with fatigue and disappointment, they returned; and never 
since, to my knowledge, has any one found that ivonderful 
place again, or been troubled with the mountain spirit.” 

The Indians inhabiting more particularly the White 
Mountains, were the Sokokies, or Pequawkets, and Anasa- 
gunticooks, tribes of the Abenakis. Traces of their ancient 
encampments are frequently discovered on the banks of the riv¬ 
ers, and near the ponds. In Conway, near the homestead of my 
father, pipes, and pieces of kettles, of a soft substance, easily 
cut with a knife, and of a whitish color, have often been dis- 


46 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


covered. The pipes and kettles must have been quite large. 
On Crocker’s point, in Conway, formed by one of the many 
turnings and bends of the Saco river, guns and hatchets were 
found, in former years, in considerable numbers. 

Further down, on the same river, on what is known as 
Merrill’s intervale, are indications of a large encampment. 
Fields, embracing acres, where the Indians formerly raised 
corn, are clearly marked out. Amid the growth of trees 
which have since sprung up, the corn-hills, such as are seen 
in any harvested corn-field, are quite distinctly seen. The 
older settlers say that, from appearances, the first growth of 
trees had been destroyed by “ girdling” them; an operation 
consisting merely in peeling the bark off entirely round the 
trees, causing them to decay and fall. 

Some years since, in Conway, while digging the cellar 
where at present stands the house of a Mr. Furber, the per¬ 
fect skeleton of a human body was found in a sitting posture. 

“ The Indian, when from life released, 

Again is seated with his friends, 

And shares again the joyous feast.” 

In Ossipee is a large mound of earth, forty-five or fifty 
feet in diameter, perfectly round, and about ten feet high. 
It is one hundred rods from the western shore of Ossipee 
Lake, in a large meadow. The trees, which covered this 
mound, were cut off' not many years since, the stumps of some 
of them measuring a foot in diameter. Extensi ve excavations 
have never been made in this mound; and yet, there have 
been taken from it, by only digging from the top, three 
entire skeletons. One of these was full-grown, in a sitting 
posture, with a piece of birch-bark over his head. Toma¬ 
hawks, and many pieces of coarse earthen-ware, have been 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


47 


found on the surrounding meadow. Corn-hills, in several 
directions, were distinctly discernible when the land was 
first cleared. This was undoubtedly, at one time, the resi¬ 
dence of the Indians. 

Not far from this mound are yet to be seen the remains of 
the fort, built by Lovewell, on his way to fight the Pequaw- 
kets, an account of which we have given in another place. 
This appears to have been only palisaded, or a stockade fort. 
Its eastern face fronted the lake, and was situated on the top 
of a small bank, near the river which here empties into the 
lake. At the north and south ends of the fort, considerable 
excavations of earth were made, resembling cellars in size 
and appearance. A ditch, in which the palisades were set, 
appears to have run round the whole tract which the fort 
contained, which was about an acre. 

In Fryburg there are many mounds and other indications 
of their ancient encampments. At one place there the mounds 
are five in number, and situated near together. The princi¬ 
pal one is sixty feet in circumference, and within this is a 
smaller, in which a tree of considerable size formerly stood. 
There are four others, extending out from the centre one, so 
as to form eight angles. 

Here was one of the large villages of the Pequawkets. 
The side of the village is about one mile and a half west from 
Love well's pond, on the eastern bank of the Saco river, and 
nearly two miles west from Fryburg village and the acad¬ 
emy. The peculiarly favorable situation of this spot for an 
Indian encampment we have spoken of in another place. 

The Sokokies were originally a large people, but became 
much reduced by their many wars. The principal residence 
of their sagamores was upon Indian island, just above the 
Lower Falls, where now stands Saco village. There were 


48 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


two branches of the tribe, and two lodgments; one at Fry- 
burg, which w~e have referred to, and the other at Ossipee 
pond. Here, before Philip’s war, they employed English 
carpenters and built a strong fort of timbers, fourteen feet in 
height, with flankers, intending it as a fortification against 
the Mohawks. 

» 

Until their decided overthrow and almost annihilation by 
Love well, in the well-known battle of Saco pond, an account 
of which we have given in another place, the Sokokis were 
the most feared of all the northern Indians. The mere men¬ 
tion of the Pequawkets, more particularly, would have 
awakened fear in the heart of the boldest adventurer in the 
frontier settlements, and frozen the blood of the timid with 
horror. So sudden were their movements, so well sustained 
and so indescribably cruel their massacres, that the English 
never felt safe from their attacks; but the least sound heard 
through the still night was interpreted to be the stealthy 
footsteps of the Pequawkets; and quick came the breath, and 
big drops of sweat oozed out, as the listener lay expecting 
each moment to hear their shrill war-whoop. 

This tribe appears to have suffered, in common with all the 
eastern Indians, by the terrible sickness which desolated New 
England immediately preceding its settlement by the Eng¬ 
lish, so startlingly described by Morton, in his New English 
Canaan. “ But contrary wise, in short time after, the hand 
of God fell heavily upon them, with such a mortall stroake, 
that they died in heaps, as they lay in their houses, and the 
living, that were to shift for themselves, would runne away 
and let them dy, and let their carkases ly above the ground 
without buriall. For, in a place where many inhabited, there 
hath been but one left alive to tell what became of the rest; 
the living being (as it seems) not able to bury the dead. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


49 


They were left for crowes, kites, and vermine, to prey upon. 
And the bones and skulls, upon the severall places of their 
habitations, in that forest nere the Massachusetts, it seemed to 
me a new-found Golgotha.” 

Mr. Vines and his companions, who partially explored 
this region in the year 1616, describe the natives as suffer¬ 
ing greatly, not only from the ravages of the pestilence, but 
from the death of the Bashaba, or chief sachem, whom the 
Tarratines, a tribe living east of the Penobscot, had attacked 
by surprise, and destroyed with all his family. “ Great dis¬ 
sensions had immediately followed among the different tribes, 
who were engaged in a destructive war with each other, when 
the pestilence made its appearance. In the midst of these 
evils, the Englishmen passed with safety among them, and 
slept in their cabins without suffering from the contagion.” 

Squando, the first chief of this tribe mentioned, was, in 
the language of Mather, “a strange, enthusiastical sag¬ 
amore.” He was very tall, and large of person, dignified in 
his deportment, impressive in his address, and possessed nat¬ 
urally of great strength of mind. With the wild supersti¬ 
tions of the savage had become mingled, in his mind, the 
truths of Christianity, which he had learned in his intercourse 
with the whites. He aspired to the character of a prophet, 
and made his followers believe that he held communion with the 
invisible spirits. God, he said, in the form of a tall man in 
dark clothes, had appeared to him, and commanded him to 
worship him more faithfully, to forbear hunting and laboring 
on the Sabbath, to abstain from drinking strong liquors, to 
pray, to attend the preaching of the gospel, and had made 
known to him the entire extinction of the English by the In- u; 
dians in a few years. These commands he is said to have 
observed strictly for a long time. 


50 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE FOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


But in 1675 came, as he said, the fulfilment of the latter 
part of his vision. And the solemn, earnest chief wrought 
up the eastern Indians, by revengeful eloquence, to the high¬ 
est pitch of excitement. Josselyn had reported that young 
Indian children could u swim naturally, striking their paws 
under their throat like a dog, and not spreading their arms 
as we do; ” some sailors, to prove the truth of the assertion, 
had overset the canoe in which was Squando’s wife and child. 
The child sank rapidly, and was only saved by the mother, 
who, diving, brought it up alive. Not long after, the child 
died, and its death was imputed, by its parents, to the ill 
treatment received. “ So highly did this exasperate Squando, 
that he resolved to use all his arts and influence to arouse and 
inflame the Indians against the settlers.” And how success¬ 
ful he was, the annals of 1675 and 1676 but too faithfully 
depict. 

Drake thus closes his account of this chief: 11 He was a 

great powow, and acted in concert with Madokawando. These 
two chiefs are said to be, by them that knew them, a strange 
kind of moralized savages; grave and serious in their speech 
and carriage, and not without some show of a kind of religion, 
which no doubt but they have learned from the prince of 
darkness. In another place, Mr. Hubbard calls him an 
1 enthusiastical or rather diabolical miscreant.’ His abilities 
in war gained him this epithet.” 

Assacumbuit, of all the chiefs of the Sokokis, was the most 
famous. Unlike Squando, he possessed no good qualities. 
To brutal courage he added a turpitude and ferocity unpar¬ 
alleled. Mather tells the story of a beautiful little girl, 
Thomasin Rouse, this chief had kidnapped from her parents. 
The tears of the little captive provoked his wrath, and his 
daily practice was to whip the poor child till she could not 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


51 


stand. One day she had been beaten by him till he sup¬ 
posed her dead, when she was kicked into the water and left. 
The poor girl was rescued by a kinder Indian, and after¬ 
wards restored to her parents. Mather says, in conclusion : 
“ This Assacumbuit hath killed and taken in this war (they 
tell me), one hundred and fifty men, women and children. 
A bloody devil.” 

He became, by his demoniac cruelties, not only the dread 
of the English, but incurred the intense hatred of the In¬ 
dians by his arrogance and pride. He always carried a huge 
club, on which were notches denoting the number of English 
he had killed. He was particularly attached to the French, 
and under some of their leaders won great renown. And so 
highly did the French esteem their ally that in 1705 Vau- 
dreuil sent him to France. Here he was an object of great 
curiosity. At Versailles he was introduced to Louis XIV., 
surrounded by his splendid court. The king presented him 
with a beautiful sword, the undaunted chieftain remarking, 
as he held out his hand to receive it, £: This hand has slain 
one hundred and forty of your majesty's enemies in New 
England.” This so pleased the king that he knighted him, 
and commanded a pension of eight livres a day to be allowed 
him for life. On his return to America, he wore upon his 
breast the insignia of his knighthood displayed in large letters. 

He was so “ exalted that he treated his countrymen in the 
most haughty and arrogant manner, murdering one and stab¬ 
bing another, which so exasperated those of their relations, 
that they sought revenge, and would have instantly executed 
it, but that he fled” for protection to the French. Still faith¬ 
ful to his former masters, he accompanied llouville in his 
attack upon Haverhill. 


52 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“ Quiet and calm, •without a fear 
Of danger darkly lurking near. 

The weary laborer left his plough, 

The milk-maid carolled by her cow ; 

From cottage door and household hearth 
Rose songs of praise, or tones of mirth. 

At length the murmur died away. 

And silence on that village lay. 

A yell, the dead might wake to hear. 

Swelled on the night air, far and clear ; 

Then smote the Indian tomahawk 
On crashing door and shattering lock ; 

Then rang the rifle-shot—and then 
The shrill death-scream of stricken men ; 

Sunk the red axe in woman’s brain, 

And childhood’s cry arose in vain. 

Bursting through roof and window came 
Red, fast, and fierce, the kindled flame ; 

And blended fire and moonlight glared 
Over dead corse and weapons bared.” 

Assacumbuit, in this attack, fought by the side of Rouville. 
and performed prodigies of valor with the sword that had 
been presented him by the King of France. In the retreat 
he was wounded in the foot. 

Whittier has so beautifully described the burial of one of 
the chiefs of the Sokokis, that we can but give it here. Po- 
lan was a chief that lingered around the hunting-grounds of 
his fathers after the majority of his tribe had removed to 
Canada. He was an inveterate enemy of the settlers, shrewd, 
subtle, and brave. He was killed in a skirmish at Windham, 
on Sebago lake, in the spring of 1756. After the white men 
had retired, the surviving Indians “ swayed” or bent down a 
young tree, until its roots were turned up, placed the body 
of their chief beneath them, and then released the tree to 
spring back to its former position. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


53 


***** 

“ Scarce have the death-shot echoes died 
Along Sebago’s wooded side ; 

And silent now the hunters stand, 

Grouped darkly, where a swell of land 
Slopes upward from the lake’s white sand. 

Fire and the axe have swept it bare, 

Save one lone beech, unclosing there 
Its light leaves in the April air. 

With grave, cold looks, all sternly mute, 

They break the damp turf at its foot, 

And bare its coiled and twisted root. 

They heave the stubborn trunk aside, 

The firm roots fi'om the earth divide — 

The rent beneath yawns dai*k and wide. 

And there the fallen chief is laid, 

In tasselled garb of skins arrayed. 

And girdled with his wampum bi’aid. 

The silver cross he loved is pressed 
Beneath the heavy arms, which rest 
Upon his scarred and naked breast. 

’T is done ; the roots are backward sent, 

The beechen tree stands up unbent — 

The Indian’s fitting monument! ” 

Chocorua, another of the chiefs who remained after his 
tribe had left the country, has given his name to one of the 
peaks on the extreme boundary of the White Mountains. It 
is a singularly-shaped mountain, its top rising up like a tower 
crowned by turrets at its corners. To the south the ascent 
of the summit is perpendicular, rising up smooth rock some 
hundred feet. 


5 * 


54 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


To this, tradition says, Chocorua had retreated, pursued by 
a miserable white hunter. To the highest point he had 
climbed, and there he stood unarmed, while below, and within 
gunshot, stood his pursuer. Chocorua besought the hunter 
not to kill him. He plead his friendliness to the whites, and 
the harmless, scattered condition of his few followers. But 
the hardened hunter was unmoved; the price of his scalp was 
too tempting; gold plead stronger than the poor Indian. See¬ 
ing that he should avail nothing, the noble chieftain, raising 
himself up, stretched forth his arms, and called upon the Gods 
of his fathers to curse the land. Then, casting a defiant 
glance at his pursuer, he leaped from the brink of the preci¬ 
pice on the south side to the rocks below. And to this day, 
say the inhabitants, a malignant disease has carried off the 
cattle that they have attempted rearing around this mountain. 

The Anasagunticooks, originally a numerous and powerful 
tribe, claimed dominion of the waters and territories of the 
river Androscoggin, or, as it was formerly called, Amaris- 
coggan; meaning “ banks of a river abounding in dried 
meat.” 

They were a warlike people. No tribe was less inter¬ 
rupted in their privileges of fishing and fowling; and yet 
none were more uniformly and bitterly hostile towards the 
colonists. Tarumkin, Warumbee and Hagkins, their sa^a- 
mores, were brave men; but the tribes wasted away during - 
the wars, and, in 1747, they were unable to muster more than 
one hundred and sixty warriors fit to march. With the Pe- 
quawkets they early retired to St. Francois, in Canada. A 
few, however, remained lingering around their ancient 
encampments. Till within a few years, small encampments 
of three or four lodges would be found occasionally where 
game was plenty, or they could obtain easily the material to 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


construct their baskets and other trinkets. They were very 
harmless and inoffensive, and always bore about them an air 
of dejection and sadness. But within a few years they have 
almost entirely disappeared, and an Indian is now seldom 
seen. 

The Hon. Enoch Lincoln took great interest in the few In¬ 
dians remaining around the White Mountains and the lakes. 
When governor of the State of Maine, he visited one Natal- 
luck, who had built a hut, and was residing with his daughter, 
on the shores of the Umbagog. The old chief had become 
blind, and depended almost entirely upon his young daughter 
for support. Warmly did he welcome the governor, however, 
and many were the excursions they made over the lake in the 
birch canoe of the Indian, paddled by the blind old chief. 
He remained a number of days, sharing with the chief all the 
rude accommodations of his wigwam. 

In Governor Lincoln’s younger days I well remember 
visiting with him an encampment of six or seven Indians, who 
were residing near Eryburg. Many were the myths and 
tales told us, one of which I distinctly recollect. An Indian 
had been drowned. The search for him had been long and 
close, but no traces of his body had yet been discovered. 
One bright starlight night, as they were setting out upon 
their last search, the moon rose, and said to them, “ I will 
aid you. By my light you shall find your dead brother. 
My bright beams shall point out his hiding-place.” Many 
other stories were related by the intelligent squaw. 

After one of the bloody engagements, in which the Indians 
had taken part, an English officer was wandering over the 
field where the encounter had taken place. As he passed 
among the dead, he noticed, lying near the body of a stalwart 
savage, the dead body of a beautiful squaw. From appear- 


56 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


ance, the affectionate wife had sought her husband amid 
the heaps of slain, and had perished in his embrace. As he 
turned to leave the spot, he espied — what before had escaped 
his notice — two little black eyes, smilingly peeping at him 
from behind its mother. On examining, he found a little 
pappoose strapped to its mother’s back. There it lay, a 
beautiful little infant, its sparkling eyes looking him directly 
in the face, all unconscious of its dreadful situation. As he 
stood watching the little creature, a brutal soldier rushed up, 
and, ere he could be prevented, struck the little Indian on the 
head with his gun, instantly killing it. 

A curious marriage custom also prevailed among these In¬ 
dians. The claims of rivals to the hand of the beautiful 
squaws was decided, not by the more modern practice of pis¬ 
tols and powder, but by hard fist-fights ; the coveted beauty 
acting as umpire, and deciding on the merits of her lovers. 
At a time when some officers and soldiers were quartered in 
the region, it was noised abroad that a battle was to take 
place between two Indians, to see which of them should be 
entitled to the hand of a captivating young squaw, who had 
stolen the affections of both. As such a thing seldom took 
place, it was determined to make the most of it, and accord¬ 
ingly the officers persuaded the Indians to have their contest 
in the fort. The fort, by the way, was an inhabited log house. 

The officers and soldiers arranged themselves around the 
room; the children of the family occupying the house fled 
to the chamber, to look down through the cracks in the floor 
upon the combatants, and the middle of the room was left 
clear for the scuffle. Like some ancient Goddess, the dark- 
skinned beauty was hoisted on a table, and seated on a box, to 
watch the contention of her lovers. All being ready, the 
young Indians entered. An older Indian stripped them of 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


57 


all weapons, that they might not take life in the heat of their 
passions. Being thus prepared, on a given signal they rush 
upon each other with all their strength. In Indian fashion, 
they seize, with an iron grasp, each other by the hair, and, 
according to our narrator, “ pulled, twitched, and jerked one 
another about the room with all their might, till, at last, one 
being a little stronger than the other, smashed him violently 
against the cellar-door, so that both went through and struck 
upon the bottom, holding their grasp till the fall.” On the 
return of the poor fellows from the cellar, the squaw chose 
for her husband the strongest. 


CHAPTER IV 


COOS COUNTY. 

COOS AS A FARMING COUNTY.—THE OPINION OF HON. ISAAC HILL.-DR. 

dwight’s account of the climate. — the many and peculiar 

SHAPES OF TOWNS. — KILKENNY.-PILOT AND WILLARD MOUNTAINS.- 

STORY OF WILLARD AND HIS DOG.-RANDOLPH.-EXTENSIVE VIEWS 

FROM RANDOLPH.-ASCENT OF MOUNT JEFFERSON. — GREAT DANGER 

IN A STORM.-VIEW FROM JEFFERSON. -JEFFERSON.-BEAUTIFUL SITU¬ 
ATION OF JEFFERSON. - BROTHERS GLINES. -COLONEL WHIPPLE.-HIS 

YEARLY VISIT TO PORTSMOUTH. -STORY LLUSTRATING HIS CARE OF HIS 

TOWNSMEN.-HIS CAPTURE BY THE INDIANS, AND ESCAPE.-MR. GO¬ 
THAM. -THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE NOTCH.-NASH’S 

DISCOVERY OF THE PASS. — GOV. WENTWORTH.-GETTING A HORSE THROUGH 

THE DEFILE. — SAWYER.-“ SAWYER’S ROCK.” — MOUNTAIN CARRIAGES. 

-BARREL OF TOBACCO. — BARREL OF RUM. -CUTTING THE ROAD THROUGH 

THE NOTCH. — HART’S LOCATION. 

Coos is a habitable county in the northern part of New 
Hampshire, meaning crooked; and Coos was the Indian 
name of the Connecticut river, near Lancaster. It is neither 
too mountainous to be cultivated, nor too sterile to be produc¬ 
tive. It is not covered with perpetual snow; and, though its 
climate is somewhat cold in winter, its inhabitants are healthy 
and long-lived. We know that this is not the opinion which 
has been formed in the minds of most in respect to it. A 
shudder will almost involuntarily creep over one as he thinks 
of the barren, inhospitable regions north of the White Moun¬ 
tains. Along its rivers are beautiful intervals, and on its 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN IIISTOKY. 


59 


uplands are the finest wheat-farms in New England. Said 
the late Hon. Isaac Hill: u Prompted by an ardent curiosity 
to learn locations, and duly estimate the value of that part of 
the north which has been passed by as scarcely fit for settle¬ 
ment, I made my way through the northernly part of Ver¬ 
mont, into the Canada townships, to the Indian stream 
country, and down through New Hampshire, during the past 
summer. I was surprised at the extent and value of this 
whole country for farming purposes. I believe the tract of 
country for one hundred miles south of the forty-fifth degree 
eastward of Lake Champlain, over Vermont and New 
Hampshire, through the whole extent of Maine to the Bay 
of Fundy and the sea, to be the most valuable tract of land 
in New England. The Canada townships, of ten miles 
further north, are splendid; Stanstead may be taken as a 
sample. The best township of Vermont is said to be Derby, 
lying side by side of it. The cattle and the productions of 
these two towns are all on a larger scale than we find down 
south. Both in the Canada townships, and within our own 
limits, there are thousands on thousands of acres of beautiful 
lands, covered with the heaviest and most valuable timber, yet 
to be taken up. The climate here, most conducive to health and 
lone* life, should be regarded as no obstacle to the settler. The 
railroads are destined to make every standing tree valuable. 
The splendid growth need not to be cut down, girdled or 
wasted, upon these lands. Upon this region the snow, falling 
in November, sometimes covers the ground till May. Con¬ 
trary to my previous expectations, I am led to consider this 
annual covering a benefit rather than an injury. It gives a 
time for active business to all who have a desire to stir about. 
There the winter is the gayest and most desirable season. 
Clothed with its white covering, the ground is generally 


60 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


preserved from deep frost, and the spring opens as a continued 
summer for the growth of vegetation/’ 

Dr. Dwight, in his travels, has also remarked the beneficial 
effect of the snow upon the ground, preventing it from 
freezing deeply, and protecting it from much frost. The 
season of vegetation directly north of the mountains is con¬ 
sequently as long, and in some spots longer than in places 
much further south; and the climate of the towns lying 
under the mountains on the north, he says, is as mild and 
pleasant as many towns in the southern part of the state. 
The south-east winds are entirely checked, or so elevated by 
their passage over the mountains, as not to be felt by the 
towns skirting the northern side; while the north-west winds, 
rebounding upon themselves, produce an entire calm. This 
corresponds well with the facts; the climate of Lancaster and 
Jefferson is mild and warm compared with many towns on the 
southern side. 

“ But nothing could surprise me again,” writes an eminent 
English traveller, “after having been told one day in New 
Hampshire, when seated on a rock in the midst of the wild 
woods, far from any dwelling, that I was in the exact centre 
of the town. 

“ 1 God made the country, and man made the town,’ sang 
the poet Cowper; and I can well imagine how the village 
pupils must be puzzled until the meaning of this verse has 
been expounded to them by the schoolmaster.” Most truly 
some very queer-shaped towns has man made among these 
mountains, and quite a learned schoolmaster we think it 
would take to find the centre of many of them. There is a 
Chinese puzzle, consisting of a box and seven or eight differ¬ 
ent-shaped pieces, triangles, squares, parallelograms, which 
can be put into hundreds of different and very odd shapes. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


61 


We think the first surveyors must have studied deeply this 
puzzle, and, with the many queer figures still floating in 
their brain, laid out these towns. How else to account for their 
shape we know not. We do not think they could be ascribed 
to political purposes, as many queer-shaped towns and districts 
have been; for Farmer, speaking of them even so lately as 
1823, does not seem to think them worthy of much political 
anxiety. He says, speaking of the inhabitants, “They are 
poor, and, for aught that appears to the contrary, must always 
remain so, as they may be deemed actual trespassers on that 
part of creation, destined by its author for the residence of 
bears, wolves, moose, and other animals of the forest! 55 
This description applies more particularly to Kilkenny, the 
most irregular of the many irregular townships. It is in 
the form of a triangle surmounted by a parallelogram many 
miles in length, but hardly a mile in width. Its northern 
boundary, the base of the triangle, lies amid the rich interval 
land of which we have been speaking in the beginning of this 
chapter, while the opposite extremity of the town is located 
upon the mountains, many miles south in the locations. 
Pilot and Willard Mountains cover a large part of the town, 
affording some fine farms along their base, and higher up 
excellent grazing land. They were so named from a hunter 
and his dog. A bold, hardy class of adventurers, similar to 
the first pioneers of the Western States, seem to have hunted 
and lived around these mountains many years previous to 
their first permanent settlement. Their particular history, 
who or what they were, beyond their name, and one or two 
isolated facts, it is impossible to learn. Hardly a town but 
contains some stream or mountain bearing their name. Some¬ 
times we find two living together, but not often. 

6 


62 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“ Alone, (how glorious to be free !) 

My good dog at my side, 

My rifle hanging on my arm, 

I range the forests wide. 

* * * * 

Now track the mountain stream, to find 

The beaver’s lurking-place.” 

This "Willard had pitched his tent on the eastern side of 
the most northerly mountains, and set his traps on the 
streams around. He was a stranger, entirely unacquainted 
with the region, and for a time must depend upon the game 
he already had in his camp for subsistence. In his explora¬ 
tions he one day became confused, and at last completely 
lost. He knew not whether to turn to the right or left. 
There was nothing to direct him, or give him any stand-point 
from which he might shape his course. If he climbed trees 
he could hardly see over the tops of the surrounding ones; 
or if he scaled the “ mountain-top, 

“ And (solitude profound !) 

Not even a woodman’s smoke curls up 
Within the horizon’s bound.” 

For two or three days he wandered thus until he was 
nearly famished. At last he bethought him of his dog, and 
he was gone; and he recollected that each day at such a time 
he had left him, and after being gone a short time would 
return. Impatiently he now waited his return, and, giving 
up the searchj on the following day, guided by his dog, he 
reached his camp, not far from which lie had been wandering. 

Randolph, adjoining Kilkenny on the east, was granted to 
one John Durand, of London, in the year 1772. It bore 
the name of its proprietor till the year 1824, when it was 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 63 

changed to Randolph. Its southern boundary is far up on 
Mount Madison. The views of the whole mountain group 
are the best from this town that can be had. From Randolph 
Hill, Madison, Jefferson, and Adams, can be seen entire 
from base to summit. The hill is not many miles from the 
Glen House, and it is now a favorite resort of visitors, as in 
fact many eminences in this town are for their extensive 
prospects. Adams, as seen from its northern side, resembles 
an extinct volcano. Rut few ever ascend these peaks; the 
ambition of most travellers being satisfied with ascending 
Mount Washington. We accidentally have found, in the 
Portland Transcript, an account of a party who ascended 
several years since, which we copy at length. 

“ We had all the while determined on ascending the 
northern part of the range to Mount Jefferson, partly on 
account of its superior wildness and grandeur, and partly 
because of the exceedingly few visitants to this place, com¬ 
pared with those to Mount Washington — the facilities for 
reaching the latter being so much greater, and the curiosity 
of the traveller not sufficiently strong to induce him to take 
the necessary toil for the former. The difference in the 
height of the two is barely more than nominal. The view, 
too, is said to be better from Jefferson; and, in our scale of 
estimation, the great ones, whose names these summits bear, 
stand on the same parallel. One wielded the sword, the other 
the pen. One prepared the way, spread the aegis; the 
other laid the platform on which to rear a nation's indepen¬ 
dence. 

“ We were informed by our guide, when we commenced the 
toilsome ascent, that one third of the mountains was hidden 
in clouds ; the truth of which was afterwards realized. The 
weather was warm and salubrious, with a gentle breeze from 


64 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

the north-west. We had advanced about half a mile, when 
the roar of the Moose and its tributaries, leaping down the 
mountain’s declivity, broke upon our ear. 

“In the vicinity of these streams the eye is greeted with 
many pleasing cascades. We had proceeded about a mile up 
the ascent, when we came into a mist, which, as we advanced, 
grew into a shower of rain, that continued the whole day. 
Twice we held council whether to proceed or abandon the 
pursuit; but, on being assured the wind was north-west, 
which we had been led to doubt in consequence of the 
reigning storm, we pushed on. 

“We had now ascended to the colder regions, which very 
sharply reproved me for my imprudence in the morning; 
for, though I had taken thick clothing, the weather was so 
warm when we started, I concluded to travel thinly clad. 
Nor could we at the time define the sudden changes of weather 
from fair to foul, together with the duration of the storm; 
and, what was the most singular phenomenon of all, while we 
were enshrouded in fog, and drenched to the skin in rain, we 
could look back to the spot from which we had started, and, 
far around as the eye could see, behold beautiful sunshine as 
ever lighted up the face of the earth ; houses dry; yellow 
fields of corn waving in the western breeze, and rivers spark¬ 
ling in beams of light. This was at first a mystery; but 
solved by recurring to a few simple principles. We are in¬ 
formed by philosophers that certain great natural conductors 
of electricity disturb the clouds and tend to produce rain, as 
proof of which the Andes are cited, in some parts of which 
it rains almost constantly. It is a fact, too, that when two 
clouds of different temperature meet, the one colder than the 
other, rain is produced. It is further a fact, that vapor, 
passing from a warmer to a colder region, will be condensed 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


65 


and fall in drops. There is vapor in the atmosphere ordi¬ 
narily, and at the time of which we are writing it must have 
been increased in consequence of the exceedingly warm 
weather and the heated state of the earth’s surface. Borne 
rapidly forward by the breeze, in its ascent to pass the mount, 
it met the embrace of a colder atmosphere. This and the 
other causes cited, no doubt, had conspired to give us a 
thorough drenching. 

“ The majority of our number, to avoid cold and wind, had 
determined to go around a mile out of the way to ascend on 
the eastern side, against which we protested, till courtesy 
dictated we should yield, then making a minority report that 
they little understood the character of the mountains, the 
right of which experience proved too sadly; for a part of the 
way was so steep, we were obliged, by the aid of shrubs, to 
draw ourselves up by our hands. We then retraced and 
travelled on till we arrived above the growth, which begins 
heavy at the base, gradually declining in size and height to 
a shrub, from this to a moss, and all beyond is naked rock. 

“ We had thought to reach the summit that night, but the 
sun was now not more than half an hour high, and we were 
obliged to travel back to the growth, where we erected a kind 
of Indian camp, covered with boughs and moss, to serve us 
for shelter. We then prepared to make a fire, when to our 
astonishment our guide had but six matches, and those he had 
carried in the wet all day. By means of an old spike, he 
had already struck the fourth, which failed to ignite. I then 
warned him of his folly, of the misery he had brought upon 
us, and in desperation told him, outright, if he missed the 
others, I was resolved to kill him on the spot. 

“A more deplorable situation cannot well be imagined. 
Night had almost approached. We could not find our way 

6 * 


66 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


off the mount. If we attempted it w r e must be dashed to 
pieces over some tremendous crag. At an elevation of five 
thousand feet, cold and wet, with clouds above and below, in 
the midst of rain, and an atmosphere like the last days of 
December; if we went back we must die, if we staid where 
w r e were we must freeze to death. 

“ We then summoned all our prudence, succeeded in 
getting some dry v'ood, by divesting a dead tree of its w T et 
outside, with a hatchet, and our guide ordering us, five in 
number, to sit down in a ring to break oft* the v T ind, taking 
off his hat and placing in it some birch which we had fortu¬ 
nately taken for buckets, struck his fifth match, which also 
failed. The sixth took, and firing the birch w r e added the 
wood, when he began to be alarmed for his hat, w T hich we 
withheld from him till it v T as nearly burned to a scrap. We 
then cut some fir-trees, which kept us a good fire, and v T e got 
partially dry. A longer night I never experienced, and I 
never wish to again. Our guides by this time had become 
chagrined and almost inexorable, the one having lost his hat, 
and the other his tobacco, Avhicli threw T him into such a fever, 
lie openly said he w T ould return in the morning, and never 
visit that mountain again. * * * One of our party com¬ 

plained in the night that a flea had bitten him, and asked how 
he supposed he came there. He tauntingly replied, ‘ Just such 
a fool as we were — came up to look off! ’ His sanguine tem¬ 
per was now irritated to the pitch which bordered on wilful 
absurdity. He pronounced a curse upon the little roof that 
had sheltered us through the inclement nio;ht, and carried it 
into execution next day by setting fire to it on our return. 

“ Not ten rods from our camp there w r as a mountain ravine, 
a steep of tw r o or three hundred feet, and it was terrible to 
stand upon the brink, and see the clouds beneath you, pass 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


.67 


through like winged messengers of the storm. Ere morning 
it cleared away; the stars shone out, the moon reflected on the 
hills, dawn threw forth his gray twilight from the east, 
‘shadow, nursed by night,’ began to retire from the moun¬ 
tain's brow, we resumed our march, and reached the summit 
in time to see the sun rise. 

“ Strange majesty ! You stand upon that flinty cap, with 
feelings that you are not of this earth. Exalted to the third 
heavens, you seem almost in the very presence of Deity. 
Looking down on the habitations of men, the soul reels with 
the giddy height of so vast an elevation. The brain grows 
wild at the awful prospect. Ten thousand columns, supporting 
as it were the very heavens, spring up and compose one great 
family. To the east the ocean stretches along two or three 
hundred miles, like a vast white wall, — 

* The glorious mirror, where the Almighty’s form 
Glasses itself in tempest.’ 

“Apollo’s showery bed, out of which he appears to rise, 
encircled in rainbow, dawning upon that colossal statue, and 
fringing the hills with his golden rays. 


* What grandeur, Jefferson ! thy lofty head 

O’erlooking sea, and lake, and hill, and wilds ; 

The day-god loves to drive from ocean bed 

His heavenward chariot to give thee his smiles.’ 

‘ ‘ The western view is bounded by the Green Mountain 
chain, traversing the whole length of Vermont. 

“ Within these limits the eye sweeps over every variety of 
natural scenery. Mountains dim in the distance; hills 
diminished to knolls; and houses but as bushels. All the 


68 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


creations of man are but as the works of the feeble insect. 
Lakes of sunniest waters, among which we noticed the 
Pequot, where, a hundred years ago, that fierce and warlike 
tribe, under the chieftain Paugus, was broken by the brave 
Captain Lovell and his Spartan band, when in full encounter 
the red man shrieked the defying death-shout, and where the 
crimson tide of life ebbed forth in sacrifice for our infant 
settlement. The story, the battle-ground, its horrors, the 
suffering, all come up before you, as you stand proudly over¬ 
looking it from that towering cliff. Beneath your feet start 
out the rivers Moose, Peabody, Ammonoosuc and Saco. To 
the north you trace the Androscoggin almost to its source; 
while to the south, Mount Washington, with all its incidents 
and features,— the Notch, the Slide, the fated Willey 
family,— springs up to crown these natural wonders. But 
this were a twice-told story; its history has been written, 
and the many visitants to the spot would make its repetition 
stale. 

“ It would seem that nature had chosen for this stupendous 
mas3 her poorest material, and reared it to heaven to astonish 
and edify mankind. We discovered a single piece of felspar, 
the rest being nothing but the coarsest gray rock. 

On its top is a pond of considerable extent, which, Caspian- 
like, has no visible outlet; with water cold as ice and clear 
as crystal. In it you behold no living thing. The eagle is 
the only bird of heaven that sees himself reflected in its 
bosom. We drank of it several times, and if it is not the 
Castalian spring, and we were not impelled by classic thirst, 
but the cravings of nature, to taste its waters, we venture to 
say it is as beautiful as satisfying to the thirsty. 

“ I have never 1 looked on Ida with a Trojan's eye,’ seen 
1 the eagles fly on Parnassus,’ the eternal glaciers of 1 the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


69 


joyous Alps,’ visited Athos, Olympus, Etna, or Atlas ; but I 
believe we have mountains, for natural sublimity, as worthy of 
song, cascades as beautiful, cataracts as awful, and lakes as 
glorious, as any the Old World can boast. I have seen Mount 
Jefferson, than which no more wild or beautiful majesty 
exists in nature. 

“ The way to this eminence is toilsome and strange; huge 
recesses beneath, the fit abodes of spirits of hate and demons 
of despair. You stand upon the dizzy verge, and at the gaze the 
heart recoils with dread. Around are scattered rocks of a 
thousand tons, tumbled down by frosts or some great natural 
causes; high above project bold, ragged and impending 
cliffs, threatening your approach, as if ready to grind you to 
powder. 

“ Chiselling our names in the adamant of this everlasting 
monument, and taking a last survey of the sublime prospect, 
we left, silent, filled with reverence, at having ‘ looked on 
nature in her loftier mood.’ ” 

Bounding Kilkenny on the west is the town of Jefferson, 
granted to one John Goffe, in the year 1765, under the name 
of Dartmouth. It is quite hilly; but the gently-rising 
slopes are cultivated to their tops, producing large crops of 
wheat, rye, barley and oats. The higher hills afford excel¬ 
lent grazing land, pasturing immense flocks of cattle and 
sheep. We know not a more beautiful pastoral scene than 
that which presents itself to one making the northern circuit 
of the mountains, as he ascends Cherry Mountain. Before 
him in all its loveliness is the towm of Jefferson. Flourishing 
fields of grain are waving upon all the green slopes. Here 
and there, in the secluded valleys, or sheltered by overhanging 
cliffs, are snug farm-houses, amid the scores of out-houses; 
and scattered amid all, and giving life to the scene, are the 


TO 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“ cattle upon a thousand hills.” Mount Pliny, in the 
eastern part of this town, and Cherry Mountain, if further 
from the higher peaks of the White Mountains, would be 
considered quite high elevations. John's river and Israel s 
river water the town. Two brothers, John and Israel 
Glines, who hunted beaver and other animals on these rivers 
previous to the settlement of any part of the country, gave 
their names to these streams. 

Colonel Joseph Whipple, one of the most widely-known 
men in New Hampshire in his day, was one of the earliest 
settlers. He was an extensive land-holder, owning most of 
the valuable land north of the mountains. More thoroughly 
versed in the ways of the world than his poorer neighbors, 
his influence became almost absolute in this region. He, 
however, never abused his position and power. The early 
inhabitants invariably speak of him as a father to them. He 
made a ready market for all the region, always purchasing 
whatever they had to sell. His annual visits to Portsmouth 
were regarded by the inhabitants w ith almost as much interest 
as the arrival of the yearly vessel by the first inhabitants of 
Greenland. “ They have one bright epoch ; for it is a happy 
time, when the ice is loosed from the rocky coast, and they 
can expect the arrival of the vessel which alone reaches 
their solitude. Often deceived by the floating iceberg, 
forming itself in mockery into the shape of their friendly 
visitant; at length they see the white sails, the towering 
masts, the blessed guest riding at anchor in the bay. By 
this vessel their w r ants are supplied. The active and pious 
housewife busies herself in arranging the stores of the en¬ 
suing twelvemonth. There are letters, too, from friends and 
from relations, and books, and newspapers; and, banished as 
they are, they live again in Denmark, in 1 their father-land.’ n 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


71 


He was very exact in his dealings with his neighbors, paying 
and receiving pay to the smallest fraction. He always 
brought with him, on his return from Portsmouth, a large bag 
of half cents to make change with. 

A good story is told illustrating his fatherly care and solici¬ 
tude for his own townsmen. During a time of great scarcity 
of provision, he refused to sell grain to any save his own 
neighbors, fearful lest there should not be enough to supply 
even them. A party of men from Bartlett, driven to extrem¬ 
ities, at last set out for Colonel Whipple's, a distance of 
thirty miles. It was in the depth of winter, and the journey 
at that season through the mountains was perilous in the 
extreme. Hunger nerved them on, and they at length arrived 
with their hand-sleds at the colonel's. Very unexpectedly 
he refused to sell them any grain. All their pleading could 
extort from him not a bushel. Determined not to return 
without it, they at last agreed upon a stratagem by which to 
obtain it. Apparently very much disappointed, they set out 
on their return. When out of sight, they stopped and waited 
for the night. Under cover of the darkness, they stole back 
to the corn-house, which they had previously examined, and, 
getting under the floor, bored a hole up through with an 
au^er, and through it filled their sacks. The colonel after- 
wards learned the fact, but, sensible that he had been wrong 
in refusing them, never mentioned it to them. 

During the war of the revolution, he was captured by the 
Indians in his own house. The party acted under the author¬ 
ity of the English, and the object was to get information in 
respect to the designs of the Americans in this region. Sus¬ 
pecting nothing, he admitted them as usual to his house, and 
w r as a prisoner before he imagined their intention. With his 
usual presence of mind he made no objection to accompany 


72 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


them ; but said they must wait a short time for him to get 
ready. He immediately commenced active preparations, and 
contrived in the bustle to tell his housekeeper, Mrs. Hight, to 
take up the attention of the Indians with some articles of 
curious mechanism which he had, while he should escape 
from the window. So occupied were they in examining the 
curiosities, that they suffered him to go into his bedroom to 
change his clothes, as he told them, and through the window 
of this he fled. He went directly to a meadow, where he had 
men to work, and, ordering each man to seize a stake from the 
fence and shoulder it as he would a gun, soon presented 
himself again to the Indians, who were already in search 
of him. Seeing him in the distance, as they supposed at 
the head of a large company of armed men, they hastily 
seized what plunder they could lay hands on, and fled. A 
Mr. Gotham, residing in the family, chanced to be coming 
towards the house at the time the Indians arrested Colonel 
Whipple, but saw them in time to make good his escape. 
They fired upon him, as he was crossing the river upon a log, 
but did not hit him. 

These lands were almost entirely valueless, at the time of 
their first settlement, for want of communication with the 
seaboard. A wide circuit must be made, either to the right 
or left, before one could get to the lower settlement. Hunters 
on foot did cross the huge barrier; but it was with much 
peril. It was for a long time a matter of much anxiety to 
the authorities of the state, how a way should be opened 
through this almost impassable chain, and many were the 
inducements held out to the fortunate discoverer of a pass. 
Nash, one of those solitary hunters of whom we have before 
spoken, climbing a tree one day on Cherry Mountain in 
search of a moose, discovered, as he thought, the long-sought 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


73 


pass. Steering with a hunter’s cunning for the opening he 
had seen, he soon struck the Saco river, a mere brook, which 
he followed down until he was stopped at what is now known 
as the gate of the Notch. Here the huge rocks came so near 
together as to prevent his following further the stream. Per¬ 
ceiving, however, that, with a proper amount of labor and 
expense, a road could be opened at the point, he scaled the 
cliffs and continued on to Portsmouth, where he made known 
his discovery to Governor Wentworth. The wary governor, 
fearful lest there might be deception in the matter, told him 
if he would get a horse down through the gorge from Jeffer¬ 
son, and bring it to him, he would grant him the tract of 
land now known as Nash and Sawyer's Location. This was 
- somewhat a difficult operation, and to accomplish it he 
admitted one Sawyer, a brother hunter, to a share in his 
trade. By means of ropes they succeeded in getting the 
horse over the projecting cliff, and carried him to the gov¬ 
ernor. Sawyer, as they lowered the old horse from the last 
projection upon the southern side, drank the last drop of rum 
from his junk bottle, and breaking it upon the rock, called it 
Sawyer’s Rock, which name it has since borne. 

It was many years before a carriage-road was cut through 
the gorge ; but the inhabitants profited much by the dis¬ 
covery. A horse, with much labor, pulling him up and 
steadying him down with ropes, could be got over the obstruct¬ 
ing rocks. Two long poles fastened together by two bars in 
the centre, somewhat similar to the modern trucks, without 
wheels, the smaller ends serving as thills in which to harness 
the horse, and the larger ends resting on the ground, was 
their only carriage. This could easily be carried over the 
rocks, and the delay of three or four hours thus caused by 
lifting over the horse and load was trifling, compared with 

7 


74 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


the long journeys they were formerly compelled to make 
around the extremities of the long range. The first articles 
carried over the pass show the great articles of trade in 
those days. One Titus Brown carried down to Portsmouth 
a barrel of tobacco, which he had raised in Lancaster, and 
the rudely-finished road was so crooked at that time, that 
between the Pass and Bartlett, but a few miles, they crossed 
the Saco river thirty-two times. The first article carried up 
through the Notch was a barrel of rum. A company in 
Portland had offered it to any one who would get it up through. 
This, Captain Rosebrook succeeded in doing with some 
assistance, though it was nearly empty, 11 through the polite¬ 
ness of those who helped to manage the affair,” says Mr. 
Crawford, when he got it home. 

Some years after its discovery, a road was attempted 
through the pass. The magnitude of this undertaking can 
be estimated only by remembering that the committee, ap¬ 
pointed to locate the road, deliberated for many days on 
which side of the river to attempt it. The cutting through 
this mountain of rock would be a gigantic operation, even at 
the present time, with all the improvements and inventions. 
How much more difficult fifty years ago! 

Hart’s Location, bounding Nash and Sawyer’s on the 
south, was granted to one Thomas Chadbourne, by Governor 
Wentworth, for services rendered by him during the Indian 
wars. It was afterwards sold to Richard Hart for fifteen 
hundred dollars, and the present name affixed to it. 


CHAPTER V. 


EARLY SETTLERS. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF TIIE LOCATIONS. — CAPT. ROSEBROOK. — MONADNUC. — 

MRS. ROSEBROOK.-SCARCITY OF SALT.-GREAT CROPS.-REMOVAL FROM 

MONADNUC. - SETTLEMENT AT GUILDHALL.- MRS. ROSEBROOK’S ADVEN¬ 
TURE WITH THE INDIANS.-REMOVAL TO NASH AND SAWYER’S LOCATION.- 

DIFFICULTY OF FINDING HIS HOUSE IN THE DRIFTS OF SNOW.-WANT OF 

PROVISIONS. - HIS ENERGY.-CANCER. - HIS DEATH.-ETHAN ALLEN 

CRAWFORD, THE GIANT OF THE MOUNTAINS.-HIS EARLY YOUTH.-HARD¬ 
SHIPS. -THE TREACHEROUS SERVANT. 

The story of the early settlement of these locations, and 
the history of the few settlers, is very interesting. The hard¬ 
ships they endured, and the obstacles they overcame, in mak¬ 
ing themselves a home among these 

-“ mountains reared aloft to mock 

The storm’s career, the lightning’ shock,’ ’ 

are almost incredible. These hills have truly been 

“ The nursery of giant men, 

Whose deeds have linked with every glen, 

And every hill, and every stream, 

The romance of some warrior-dream ! ” 

The first permanent settler in Nash and Sawyer’s Location 
—if not the first, the first deserving of particular notice — 
was Capt. Eleazer Rosebrook. He was a native of Massa- 



76 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


chusetts, born, in the year 1747, in the town of Grafton. 
He married, when twenty-five, a Miss Hannah Hanes, and 
soon after left his native state for the wilds of ISew Hamp¬ 
shire. He first stopped at Lancaster, making, however, but 
a short stop, and then settled more permanently in Monad- 
nuc, which is now Colebrook, full thirty miles from any 
inhabitant, and with no path or road to their cabin but u spot¬ 
ted trees.” Here life in the woods commenced in earnest. 
Frequently, when Mr. Rosebrook had been absent to some of 
his “ neighbors,” Mrs. Rosebrook would fasten her eldest 
child, a little girl, in their cabin, and, with an infant in her 
arms, set out in search of their cow, which roamed at large 
through the thick woods. Over logs and sticks, through 
bushes and brakes, now in some secluded glen, and now 
stumbling over rocks and wading rivers, she would wander, 
listening attentively for the u bell,”' until at last, as the moon 
came up over the trees, the 11 old cow” would be discovered. 
Getting her home as best she could through the darkness, 
she would milk with the infant still in her arms, and, after 
securing the cow for the night, retire to rest. 

The forest so closely surrounding them abounded in wild 
game, easily taken, and easily prepared for food. This, in¬ 
deed, furnished them with a great part of their living, fresh 
in summer, but dried and smoked in winter. Salt was very 
scarce. At one time Capt. Rosebrook was compelled to go 
on foot to Haverhill, a distance of eighty miles, the whole 
distance through the trackless wilderness, following down the 
Connecticut river as his guide, in order to procure this arti¬ 
cle. One bushel he there obtained, and, shouldering it, 
trudged back over the same rude path to his home. * So much 
did some families suffer for want of salt, that their children’s 
necks swelled badly, and brought on disease in the neck, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


77 


cured only by visiting the salt water, and applying the skin 
of salt fish to the affected part. 

Small patches of land were cultivated, as the land could be 
cleared and seed procured wherewith to plant it. The first 
experiment in raising potatoes equalled, almost, the extrava¬ 
gant western stories of “ great crops,” so rife a few years 
since. One Major Whitcomb, after travelling fifty miles, 
procured one bushel of potatoes, which, by cutting, he made 
to plant four hundred hills. These he watched with all the 
interest of Crusoe over his grains of barley, and so well did 
they do, that he harvested, from his small sowing, one hun¬ 
dred bushels of good potatoes. 

Capt. Rosebrook did not remain long, however, at Monad- 
nuc. Like a true pioneer, he was restless and ever on the 
move. He did not remain long enough here to build his 
“ two-story wooden palace,” but was soon on the look-out for 
some new home. Guildhall, Vermont, less distant from the 
settlements, and containing more inhabitants, he chose as his 
new place of residence, and thither removed his family. He 
had joined the Revolutionary army as a volunteer, shortly 
before leaving Monadnuc, and was, consequently, absent from 
his family most of the time. Hardy, fearless, and wary, 
he was of great value to the American forces in the irreg¬ 
ular warfare which they were compelled to carry on with 
the Indians, under English officers, on the Canadian frontier. 
Many are the “ hair-breadth” escapes he made by his supe¬ 
rior cunning. 

Guildhall was quite a rendezvous for the Indians, and his 
own cabin, some distance from any other, was their favorite 
place of resort when he himself was gone, and no one at home 
but his wife and little daughters. She, however, had no fear 
of them, and freely admitted all that came to her house. 

7* 


78 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


Generally they were very quiet, and, after spending the night, 
would leave peaceably. Their excursions to the settlements 
were for the purpose of exchanging their furs for trinkets and 
“ uncupy,” or spirit, which they carried in bladders taken 
from the moose and dried. At one time, however, near the 
close of the war, and shortly before the return of Capt. Rose- 
brook to his family, many Indians, loaded heavily with 
uncupy, came suddenly to his cabin, near night. Mrs. 
Rosebrook, as usual, kindly received them, and gave them 
permission to remain all night. Soon after entering, howev¬ 
er, she perceived that they had drank too freely, and feared 
they might become noisy and unmanageable. Determined to 
be mistress of her own house, and knowing a bold bearing was 
her only safety, in case they became unruly, when, late in the 
evening, they became boisterous and rude, she ordered the 
whole tribe out of doors. At first they thought to resist, 
but, intimidated by her boldness, they left her as she com¬ 
manded them. One squaw, only, sought to test the courage 
and strength of Mrs. Rosebrook, and she was soon dragged by 
the hair to the door, and pitched out among her companions. 
As the brave woman was fastening the door, after expelling 
her savage intruders, a tomahawk, thrown by the same 
squaw, came so near her as to cut off the wooden latch on 
which rested her hand. The same squaw, however, be it 
said to her credit, returned the next day, and asked Mrs. 
Rosebrook’s forgiveness, and promised better for the future. 

Capt. Rosebrook remained long enough at Guildhall to 
become the possessor of a fine farm. The broad, beautiful 
interval lands of the Connecticut, so easy to cultivate, and 
yielding so abundantly, it would have been hard for any 
other man to have abandoned for the wilderness. Still rest¬ 
less, and fond of the excitement attendant upon the life of a 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


79 


pioneer, in the year 1792 he sold his farm in Guildhall, and 
moved into Nash and Sawyer’s Location. Excepting the 
Crawfords, twelve miles further down among the mountains, 
in the Notch Valley, he had no neighbors nearer than twenty 
miles. A log house had been erected here a few' years pre¬ 
vious, but had been abandoned, and into this he moved his 
family. It was in the depth of winter; the snow was piled up 
in huge drifts, and the entrance to his little hut could with 
difficulty be found, even after the monster pile had been dis¬ 
covered, beneath which his cabin lay buried. After much 
shovelling he succeeded in finding the door and making an 
entrance for his shivering family. They had brought but 
little provision with them, and were dependent, almost en¬ 
tirely, upon the game he could capture, and what could be 
obtained from their neighbors. Often were the children sent, 
through the snow, to the Crawfords’, a distance, as we have 
said, of twelve miles, to obtain such articles as were abso¬ 
lutely necessary to'the sustenance of the family. From these 
long errands, through the snow and cold, frequently they 
would be unable to reach home until a late hour of the night. 
But Capt. Rosebrook, by his energy and industry, soon put 
an entirely different aspect upon this secluded spot. On 
what is called the Giant Grave, he built a large two-story house, 
very convenient. He also built, within a few years, large 
barns, stable, sheds, and a saw-mill and grist-mill. His farm 
was very productive, to which he added, yearly, many broad 
acres redeemed from the surrounding forest. His saw-mill, 
he says, was of great profit to him; but his grist-mill was so 
far from his house, and “ the mice injured the bolt so much, 
that it was difficult to keep it in repair.” 

Hardly, however, had Capt. Rosebrook become comfortably 
situated, when a cancer broke out upon his lip, which, after 


80 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


a few years of intense suffering, caused his death. Patiently 
he bore his suffering, and though unused, heretofore, to the 
confinement of a sick-room, murmured not, and at length 
died, peacefully, September 27th, 1817. In all respects Mr. 
Rosebrook was a remarkable man, large in stature, athletic, 
and very strong. His whole life was one of daring adventure. 
He loved the rugged scenes of pioneer life, and was never 
more in his element than while scaling the mountain or trap¬ 
ping the wolf or bear. There are men enough who prefer 
the city, and cling fondly around their native village ; but he 
could never endure the restraints connected with our larger 
settlements — the restraints of artificial life; but freely, his 
arms and broad chest all bare, must breathe the strong, pure 
air, as it came rushing along through those mountain gorges. 

Ethan Allen Crawford, the “ Giant of the hills,” was the 
heir to Capt. Rosebrook’s property, and continued, after his 
death, to reside on the same place, to which he had removed, 
a few years before, to take care of Capt. Rosebrook and his 
wife. The Crawfords have been so intimately connected 
with the mountains, that to omit them would be to pass over 
entirely the history of these valleys. Ethan Crawford was 
nearly as well known to all the earlier visitors, and of almost 
as much interest, as Mount Washington itself. Many a lady, 
we presume, will recollect, distinctly, the kind assistance he 
lent them in descending those rugged heights — nay, even at 
times taking them, when very weary, on his broad shoulders, 
and carrying them down those precipitous paths, as tenderly 
as a father carries his infant child. We think now of one 
who said he carried her more than half way down Mount 
Washington on his shoulder. Ethan Crawford was born at 
Guildhall, Vermont, but his parents early removed to the 
mountains, and located themselves in Hart’s Location, on the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


81 


very spot where now stands the Old Crawford House. Here 
he spent his youth until he was nineteen years old. Many 
stories of his early life, which he was accustomed to relate, 
show the hardships which the early settlers of that region 
were compelled to endure. “ Until I was nearly thirteen 
years old I never had a hat, a mitten, or a pair of shoes 
of my own. Many times I have chopped wood through the 
day, and at night my hands, which had been bare, would 
swell and pain me so badly, that my mother would have to 
get up and poultice them, before I could sleep. But so ac¬ 
customed did I become to the cold, that I could harness and 
unharness horses, in the coldest winter weather, with my 
head, hands and feet, nearly bare.” Tough, hearty and cour¬ 
ageous were all these mountaineers. Their training w T as one 
long process of toughening and daring. Says Mr. CrawTord, 
“ Shortly after my parents came into this place, they w’ent, 
one Sabbath day, to Bartlett, expecting to return the next 
day, and left myself and next older brother in the care of a 
hired man, with provisions enough prepared to last until their 
return. Soon after they had gone, the hired man picked up 
whatever was valuable, that he could carry, and, taking all 
the victuals cooked in the house, left us for the woods. The 
day wore away without our thinking much about it; but, as 
night came on, we grew very hungry and a little frightened. 
We had a cow, but neither of us were large enough to milk her. 
Compelled, how T ever, to satisfy our hunger in some way, w r e, 
at last, got some potatoes and roasted them in the ashes. 
On these w r e made our supper. After eating, as it grew 
darker and darker, and we got tired of talking and wishing 
our parents would return, w r e w'ent to bed, and, hugging our¬ 
selves up together as close as possible, went to sleep.” On 
the return of the parents on Monday, the father immediately 


82 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

set out in pursuit of the man, and, just as he was leaving the 
woods at Franconia, caught him, and after taking the stolen 
goods, severely flogged him and let him go. What men 
brought up under such circumstances would not have 

courage ? 


CHAPTER YI. 


ETHAN A. CRAWFORD. 

mr. Crawford’s impressive manner of story-telling. — the burning 

OF HIS BUILDINGS. — HIS ENERGY IN REPAIRING HIS LOSSES. — HIS LABORS 

AS A GUIDE ON TO THE MOUNTAINS.-THE DIFFICULTY FORMERLY OF 

REACHING THE MOUNTAINS.-STORY ILLUSTRATING DIFFICULTY OF TRAV¬ 
ELLING IN THOSE DAYS.-PRESENT MODES OF REACHING MOUNTAINS.- 

FIRST ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAINS.-PARTY OF STUDENTS FROM FRYBURG. 

-EASE OF ASCENDING NOW.-FIRST BRIDLE-PATH.-ETHAN’S SEVERE 

WOUND. — GRANNY STALBARD. — CARRIAGE-ROAD FROM GLEN HOUSE.- 

LOVE OF HUNTING.-THE GRAY CAT.-ADVENTURES WITH THEM.-LAS¬ 
SOS AND CAPTURES ONE WITH BIRCH POLES. -WOLVES. — HIS ANNOYANCE 

AND DISCOMFITURE BY THEM.—BEAR STORIES. — CATCHING THE CUB.— 
CAPTURE OF A FULL-GROWN BEAR. 

Mr. Crawford’s many adventures among these mountains 
should be heard from his own lips to be fully appreciated. 
As told by another they lose the advantage of his own giant 
figure, emphatic gesticulations, and the quaint original style 
in which his ideas were expressed. Says his wife, “ It was 
always a rule with him to make short stories, and not go a 
great way round to effect a small thing.” 

Very soon after the death of Mr. Rosebrook, the ample 
buildings which he had reared, and in which Mr. Crawford 
was residing at the time, were burned to the ground. It was 
a severe loss to Mr. Crawford, and one from which he never 
fully recovered. He was already in debt, and the loss of so 


84 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


much property seemed almost to shut out the hope of his 
ever extricating himself. But his courage did not forsake 
him, and, with his characteristic energy, he commenced to 
repair his losses. His family was immediately moved into a 
small log house, with but one door, one common apartment, 
no windows, and a chimney raised only to the chamber floor. 
This he repaired by degrees, as he had leisure, and by the 
next winter had a comfortable house. 

His time was much occupied with travellers, many of whom 
had already begun to visit the mountains. His services were 
almost constantly in demand by those wishing to ascend to 
the summit of the mountains. At present it is hardly pos¬ 
sible to realize the difficulties, not only of ascending, but even 
of reaching, the mountains themselves. When cumbersome, 
unwieldy u stages ” only lumbered out of Concord and Hover, 
and Portland, giving aches and pains and bruisings innu¬ 
merable to the weary occupant, a journey to the White 
Mountains was no trivial affair ; and these could but carry 
him to Eryburg or Conway, some thirty miles from his des¬ 
tination, while the journey must be finished on horseback. 
Slow, slow was the rate of travel in those days, and fortunate 
was the traveller if he reached the Crawfords in four or six 
days. 

A curious incident, illustrating this point, as well as some 
of the other earlier New England customs, is related by Mrs. 
Crawford. On a time, “ when they were to have a training, 
an officer went fifty miles to Lower Coos, as it was called, or 
Haverhill now, for two quarts of spirit to treat his com¬ 
pany with. As they had no carriages in those days, neither 
had they a road suitable for one, he took his horse, put on a 
saddle, and then a pair of large saddle-bags, filled with pro¬ 
visions for the journey, and a jug for the spirit, and provender 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


85 


for his horse, and, as they travelled at that time, it took him 
three or four days to perform this journey. When on his 
way home, by some unknown accident, the cork got loose, and 
the bottle was emptied of its contents into the saddle-bags. 
The liquor would have been saved had not the oats soaked up 
a part of it; he, however, saved enough to treat his company 
with.”. 

At present the traveller has but to take his seat in a 
“ spacious and well-ventilated railroad-car, elegant in its 
appointments as a parlor,” enjoy all the pleasures ascribed 
by the poet to u Riding on a rail,” — 

“ Singing through the forests, 

Rattling over ridges, 

Shooting under arches, 

Rumbling over bridges ; 

Whizzing through the mountains, 

Buzzing o’er the vale,”— 

and presently he is set down at the very base of the moun¬ 
tains themselves on the eastern side. If he prefer to approach 
them from the south and west, the best modern coaches will 
bear him over good roads to the very centre of the wide clus¬ 
ter of mountains. Having reached the base of the mountains, 
the ascent, though now difficult and fatiguing, is not to be 
compared to the wearisome and perilous undertakings of the 
first visitors. Mr. Crawford gives the account of two young 
men, who undertook the ascent so late as 1818, with his 
father, the elder Crawford, as their guide. “ They rode to 
the top of the Notch, then sent back their carriage, and pro¬ 
ceeded to the woods. They had much difficulty in managing 
to get through ; they, however, proceeded slowly, sometimes 
crawling under a thicket of trees, sometimes over logs and 
windfalls, until they arrived to where they could walk on the 

8 ' 


86 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


top of trees. This may seem strange, but it is nevertheless 
true. They never reached the summit, but managed to get 
along on some of the hills. 

“ As the day was drawing to a close, they returned to the 
woods, in order to pass the night, and erected a shelter for 
their protection. A dense fog arose, and during the night it 
rained. In the morning, owing to the darkness, they could 
not tell the best way to proceed; but took the surest way by 
following the Ammonoosuc river, and came to my house. 
These men wore fine and costly garments into the woods; 
but when they returned their clothes were torn and much 
injured by the bushes; and their hats looked as if they had 
been through a beggar’s press. They were much exposed all 
night, without food or fire.” 

And often have I heard my father and eldest brother relate 
the perils of their first ascent, made in company with a party 
, of students from Fryburg Academy. They went up from 
the east side of the mountain, as, in fact, most travellers did 
in those days. Many of the party, entirely overcome by the 
fatigue and difficulty of proceeding, fainted, and were obliged 
to return. Such, however, as did succeed, will probably 
never forget the undertaking. For the first few miles the 
difficulties were no more than one would encounter in any 
forest. But, as they ascended, the trees, changed from the 
maple and beech to the spruce and hemlock, became much 
smaller in size, at the same time thicker, while their way 
was much more broken and rough. At length, from forcing 
their way through the thick growth, they were compelled to 
stoop and go under the scraggy tops of the rough, stiff, hem¬ 
locks, and spruces, sending out their long limbs and interlac¬ 
ing them so firmly as to form an impassable barrier. At each 
ascending step they were forced to stoop still lower, until 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


8T 


from right angles they almost touched the ground with their 
faces. When they could proceed no further in this way, they 
forced their way up through the matted tops of the trees 
and walked on the low, stunted vegetation as upon moss. 
In this manner they passed the limits of vegetation and reached 
the summit. From their account I should judge a sorrier- 
looking set of men never descended Mount Washington. 
Their clothes were not only almost torn from their backs, but 
their bodies were lacerated sorely, by their perilous march 
through the dwarfish growth. 

At present the ascent, though rough, is much easier. 
Visitors can start from any of the houses around the moun¬ 
tains, and ascend with nothing in the shape of stumps or trees 
to obstruct their way. Bridle-paths have been cut from all 
these points to the top of the mountains, so that even now 
females can ascend them on horseback. The first bridle-path 
was made by Ethan Crawford in 1821. He says of it: “ In 
March I hired Esquire Stuart to come with his compass, and 
go into the woods, and see if there could not be a better and 
more practicable way found to ascend the mountains. He 
spent three days in making search, and returned well satisfied 
that he had found the best way; for the road which we had 
heretofore travelled is an uneven one, going up a hill and 
then down again, and this in so many successions, that it 
made it tiresome to those who were not accustomed to this 
kind of journeying; and the way which we had now found 
is over a comparative level surface for nearly seven miles, 
following the source of the Ammonoosuc, or Ompomponoosuc, 
until we arrived at the foot of Mount Washington, and then 
taking a ridge or spur of the hill. 

“ In the summer, just before haying, I hired men and went 
with them to cut this path, and while in the woods, at 


88 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


the distance of three miles from home, as I was standing 
on an old log chopping, with my axe raised, the log broke, 
and I came down with such force that it struck my right 
ankle, and glanced, nearly cutting my heel-cord off; I bled 
freely, and so much so that I was unable to stand or go. The 
men that were with me took the cloths we had our dinner 
wrapped in, and tied up my wound as well as they could, and 
then began to contrive means to get me out of the woods. 
They cut a round pole, and with their frocks which they 
wore tied me in underneath it, and thought they could carry 
me in like manner as we bring dead bears through the woods; 
but in this way I could not ride. They then let me down, 
and took turns in carrying me on their backs, until we got 
out of the woods. There happened to be at my house, then, 
Mrs. Stalbard, who is known in our country, and bore the 
name of Granny Stalbard, whose head was whitened with 
more than eighty years. She was an old doctress woman ; 
one of the first female settlers in Jefferson, and she had 
learned from the Indians the virtues of roots and herbs, 
and the various ways in which they could be made useful. 
Now the old lady said it was best to examine this wound, 
and have it properly dressed up; but, as it had stopped 
bleeding, I told her I thought it was better to let it remain as 
it then was; but she, thinking she was the elder and knew 
better, unwrapped it, and it soon set bleeding afresh, and it 
was with difficulty she now stopped it. She, however, went 
into the field, plucked some young clover-leaves, pounded them 
in a mortar, and placed them on my wounds : this stopped 
the blood so suddenly that it caused me to faint.” This is 
the history of the first bridle-path. 

But these bridle-paths are but “ notched trees ” compared 
with what energy, enterprise and capital, have already com- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


89 


menced. At an expense of one hundred thousand dollars, a 
carriage-road is being constructed to the very summit of the 
mountain. “ The length of the road from the Glen House to 
the top will be eight miles. It is to be fifteen feet wide, 
clear of all obstructions, McAdamized in the best manner, 
and the average grade will be a rise of one foot to eight and 
a half, with level spots at various points of interest, where 
travellers may rest and examine the scenery. Wherever the 
road is on the side of declivities, strong walls will be erected, 
the road itself inclining inwards. The carriages are to be 
peculiarly constructed. They will be broad and low, and so 
arranged with screws that, whether going up or down, the 
body of the coach will be on a perfect level. A fine hotel is 
to be erected on the summit by the company, with an exten¬ 
sive carriage-road around it, so that visitors may at their ease 
see every aspect of nature below.” 

But to return to Mr. Crawford. Almost constantly occu¬ 
pied as he was in summer with his visitors and farm, he yet 
found much time for hunting, which was his favorite recrea¬ 
tion. His winters were almost entirely devoted to this, and 
generally quite profitably. The mountains were then teeming 
with wild animals ; very valuable for their meat and skin. 
By his great strength, cunning, and courage, no animal 
could escape him. 

“ His rifle flashed. 

The grim bear hushed his savage growl ; 

In blood and foam the panther gnashed 
His flings, with dying howl ; 

The fleet deer ceased its flying bound. 

Its snarling wolf-foe bit the ground. 

And, with its moaning cry, 

The beaver sank beneath the wound 
Its pond-built Venice by.” 

8 * 


90 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


Alone and unarmed he would attack the fiercest animal of 
the forest; — the gray cat, or Siberian lynx, such a terror 
to the hunter, even when in company and armed with his 
rifle. This animal differs considerably from the wild-cat, 
with which it is often confounded; resembling more in -its 
appearance and disposition the caracal of Asia. It is perfectly 
untamable, and lives entirely upon the smaller animals of 
the forest. “ At one time,” Mr. Crawford says, “ these an¬ 
imals became very bold, making great havoc among our sheep 
and geese, and causing us many fears for the safety of our 
children. I set many traps for them, baiting them with a 
variety of meats, from hens cooked, to chickens alive with 
feathers on; but nothing would tempt them, until I chanced 
to try pickled fish. The night after I had baited with this, one 
got into the trap. He was quite large, and moved the trap some 
distance into a clump of bushes, so that in the morning, when 
I came to look for him, it was some time before I could find 
him. He was lying partly concealed by the bushes, and I 
did not see him before I had my foot raised to step on him. 
He sprang and I sprang, fortunately far enough to get a 
large stick before he could attack me. With this I entered 
into an engagement, and it was some time before I was able 
to quiet him. I conquered, however, at last, and in triumph 
carried him home. He measured more than six feet in length. 
In this way I caught six of them.” 

At another time, as he was passing down through the 
Notch with his team, his dog discovered one, but a_short dis¬ 
tance from the road, in the top of a tree thirty feet high. 
Taking a small hatchet which he had with him, he cut two 
birch sticks, which he twisted together, so as to form one 
long pole. On one extremity of this he made with another 
stick a ring with a slip-noose to it. This he worked up 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


91 


through the limbs of the tree, and threw over the animal’s 
head, somewhat as the Indian lassos the wild horse with his 
lariat. Jerking suddenly, as he threw the noose over his 
head, he brought the creature down ten feet, when the noose 
broke. He fixed another before the lynx could recover from 
the shock of the first jerk, and this time brought him to the 
ground. The dog instantly sprang upon him, but was soon 
glad to cry for quarters, and retreat with his skin nearly torn 
from his body. The fellow now became furious ; but, unable 
to reach his captor, sprang into the top of a small spruce, 
four feet high, and here seemed determined to remain. The 
battle now commenced in earnest. By means of the halter, 
Mr. Crawford held him firmly in his place, and, with such 
sticks as he could readily lay his hand on, commenced beating 
him to death. It was a long and exciting struggle, requiring 
all his strength to keep him from springing into his face; 
but he delighted in such contests, and by his w T ell-directed 
blows at length killed him. 

On Cherry Mountain, he chased one into the tops of the 
thick trees, and, unwilling to lose it, climbed up, and for a 
long time continued the chase amid the branches; running 
round upon them almost as easily as the animal itself. 

For hours he would amuse the traveller w T ith his adven¬ 
tures in hunting, apparently as unconscious of anything re¬ 
markable as the boy who relates his exploits at a squirrel 
hunt. Wolves he dealt with as others do with a cat and 
kittens. Accidentally one day he came across a hollow log 
containing a nest full of young wolves. Two of them he 
carried home and domesticated, and in time so tamed them 
that they w r ere delivered over to his little son to take care of 
them. He taught them all the tricks that boys teach dogs, 
even making them speak for their food before receiving it. 


92 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 



But once only they offered violence, and that was occasioned 
by attempting to remove some bones which one of them had 
buried. 

With all his skill and courage, they would sometimes, he 
was compelled to acknowledge, annoy him exceedingly. His 
sheep he even had to sell, to prevent their being all destroyed 
by them. One cold December night a whole pack came 
suddenly upon his fold. The frightened sheep took ref¬ 
uge under the shed, and hid themselves among his cattle 
and horses. Wolves seldom attack these, unless driven to 
great extremity by hunger, and did not meddle with them, 
but satisfied themselves by digging up the carcases of some 
bears, which had been buried behind the barn. Their repast 
finished, they sat down upon their haunches directly in front 
of the house, and, as if in defiance of the master, commenced 
a most dismal howling. The very mountains echoed with 
their “lonesome music.” The dog was first let out, hoping 
• he might frighten them off; but the reception they gave him 
was soon manifest from his loud cries. They had nearly torn 
him in pieces when Mr. Crawford came to his rescue. 
Springing out of bed, he went out with nothing on but his 
night-dress. The cunning fellows, perceiving their advan¬ 
tage, dropped the dog, and sat “bolt upright” to receive him. 
He was fairly beaten; nothing could move them. Talk as 
loud as he could, they would not stir. They waggishly 
wagged their heads as he threatened, until at length the chill 
night-wind compelled him to retreat, and leave them masters 
of the field. 

His fund of “bear stories” was almost inexhaustible. 
Hardly a week had passed, since he had lived among the 
mountains, that he had not had an encounter with one. 
Young cubs he would capture and carry home as one would 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


93 


a young pig. Driving one as large as a good-sized dog into 
a tree one day, lie persuaded a young man with him to climb 
the tree, and drive him out, while he stood below to keep the 
old bear off. The cub, to escape his pursuer, ran out from 
the tree into a smaller one close by, where Mr. Crawford 
was standing. Keeping the old hear off as best he might, 
he shook the tree so hard that down came the young bruin 
pounce upon him. He simply remarked that he took good 
hold of him, and, tying his handkerchief about his mouth, 
carried him home. Such hand-to-hand encounters he fre¬ 
quently had with them, never fearing to match his own 
unaided strength with theirs. A very amusing account of 
such an engagement we give in his own words: 

u Once, going to a celebrated place for bears, I foun3 
a good-sized yearling bear caught in a steel trap by one of 
his fore-feet, and he appeared not to have been long there. 
He had fastened the grapple to a hunch of roots, and there 
was a chain between the grapple and the trap. Here he 
was sitting in an humble and ashamed-looking position. I 
looked him over, and at length concluded to contrive means 
to lead him home. I cut a round stick, ten feet in length, 
sufficiently large and stout to lead him with; then, taking the 
throat-latch from the bridle, the stirrup-leather and the 
mail-straps from the saddle, I set the horse at liberty, and 
managed to get hold of the bear’s hind feet; these I straight¬ 
ened and tied to a tree. I then went up to 4iis head and 
secured his mouth, but not so tight but what he could lap 
water. While thus engaged, in spite of all my care, he put 
out his fore-paw — the one that was at liberty — and placed 
it so hard against one of my legs, that I really think, had it 
not been for a good strong boot, he would have torn the skin; 
but the boot prevented him from tearing my leg. He, 


94 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


however, took a piece of my pantaloons with him; still, I 
would not give up the idea of bringing him home alive. I 
then fastened a strap around him, before and behind, and the 
stick upon his neck, loosened his feet, and then began to try 
to lead him. Here we had a great struggle to see which was 
the stronger, and which should be master; and he played 
his part so well I could do nothing with him. He would turn 
upon me and fight me all he possibly could. I now thought 
I must kill him; but as I had never been beaten by a wild 
animal, I was unwilling to give up now. He would come to 
a tree, and hold on, so that I found I could not lead him. I 
again contrived a way to confine him, but with more diffi¬ 
culty than before, as his feet were entirely free, and, being 
quick and active with them, I had hard work to get them 
again; but, after a while, I made out to. I then tied 
his hind and fore feet together, in such a manner that he 
could not scratch me ; then placing him on my shoulder, with 
one hand hold of his ear, to keep his head from coming too 
near mine, in case he wished to make a little closer friendship, 
I trudged on ; but he was so heavy and ugly to manage, that 
it made me sweat; and I was obliged to lay him down often 
and rest, and whenever I came to water, I would let him lap 
it. I made out to get two miles, he all the while growing 
worse and worse; at last he actually turned upon me, and 
entered into an engagement with me, by scratching and 
trying to bitfe, and, after tearing my vest, I concluded I 
would once more lay him down — and the way was not easy. 
Lifting him up as high as I could, I let him fall, and, the 
ground being hard, the breath left his body. Here I left him, 
and went home, and sent a man after him.” 


CHAPTER, VII. 

THE CRAWFORD FAMILY. 

mr. Crawford’s early death. — a remarkable man. — the crawford 

FAMILY.-ABEL CRAWFORD.-MRS. CRAWFORD. — HER BRAVERY DURING 

THE NIGHT OF THE SLIDES.-CRAWFORD HOUSE. -DEATH OF MR. STRICK¬ 
LAND THE MOUNTAINS.-DANGER OF ASCENDING MOUNTAINS WITHOUT 

GUIDE.-PARTY OF STUDENTS LOST ON MOUNTAINS.-NANCY’S BROOK. - 

STORY OF NANCY.-SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED WITH THE SPOT WHERE SHE 

WAS FOUND. — OWL STORY. — BEAUTIFUL AURORAL DISPLAY AT THE 
NOTCH. 

Mr. Crawford died young. The exposures and hardships 
of his early life had completely shattered his naturally strong 
constitution, and he broke down long ere he had reached the 
maturity of manhood. He suffered much in his last days 
through his bodily ailments and pecuniary embarrassments. 
The giant of nearly seven feet, whose feats of strength had 
been the wonder and astonishment for many miles around 
him, was at length compelled to yield to a foe that he could 
not withstand. His great strength was no aid to him in en¬ 
during the intense pain which he suffered, so acute at times, 
that he says, “ I have put my hand to the top of my head, 
and felt the hair, to know if it did not stand straight on end, 
as I could feel it rise, and sometimes would think it would 
throw off my hat.” Relieved, for brief periods, of this in¬ 
tense pain, he would forget all past suffering, and so great 


96 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


was his love for hunting and the mountains, that, gun in hand, 
he would totter after his game when scarcely able to stand. 
We always had a high estimate of Mr. Crawford, as one of 
nature’s noblemen; but never more so than since w’e com¬ 
menced to write the brief story of his adventurous life. 
Beneath his rough exterior lay concealed some of the noblest 
qualities in the human character. We cannot convey our 
idea of him more exactly than in the words of the poet: 

“ He was one 

Who would become a throne, or overthrow one. 
***** noble 
' In nature, * * gentle, yet wary ; 

Yet for all this, so full of certain passions, 

That if once stirred or baffled, as he has been, 

* * * * there is no fury 

In Grecian story like to that which wrings 
His vitals with her burning hands.” 

The whole Crawford family have been remarkable for their 
size and strength. Abel Crawford, the father, often styled 
the “ patriarch of the mountains,” at eighty was a stout, ath¬ 
letic man. A walk of five miles to his son Thomas J. Craw¬ 
ford, before breakfasting, at this advanced age, he performed 
with the greatest ease. At seventy-five he rode the first 
horse on to the top of Mount Washington that ever ascended. 
He represented, in the state legislature, the eight voters in 
his own location, and the few in Nash and Sawyer’s Loca¬ 
tion and Carroll, with much ability, the five or six last years 
of his life. We can never forget his appearance not long 
before his death. So long had he been accustomed to trav¬ 
ellers during the summer months, that he felt he could not 
die without seeing them arrive once more. His venerable 
locks, as white as the drifted snow, falling to his very slioul- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


97 


ders. his tall, massive form, as erect as in the prime of his 
manhood, he sat supported by his affectionate daughter, as 
eagerly waiting for the coming of his visitors, as the dying ' 
sailor for the sight of his native shores. “Full of years,” he 
died on their first arrival. 

He was a good-humored man through all his life, and 
mingled as much of the playful with the sober as any you 
will ever see. After his days of toil in the field and on the 
mountain were over, and he was confined to his house through 
age, he spent much time in rehearsing amusing and interest¬ 
ing anecdotes to all who were disposed to listen to him, and 
from his visitors there were many such. Thus he greatly 
endeared himself to his guests, and through succeeding time 
not a few of them will rise up and say, 

“ I remember well a man, a white-haired man, 

Pithy of speech, and merry when he would, 

A genial optimist, who daily drew. 

From what he saw, his quaint moralities. 

Kindly he held communion, though so old, 

With me, a dreaming hoy, and taught me much 
That books tell not, and I shall ne’er forget.” 

Mrs. Crawford w~as the fitting companion of so hardy a man. 
She was the mother of nine children, eight sons and one 
daughter. Erastus, the eldest son, was six feet and six 
inches in height, strong, and very compactly made. Ethan 
Allen, as we have before remarked, was near seven feet in 
height; and no son, we believe, was less than six feet tall. 

During the night of the dreadful storm, when my brother’s 
family was destroyed, Mrs. Crawford was alone with her 
smaller children, in their house. The water rose at a fear¬ 
ful rate, bearing along on its current sheep and cattle, and 
hay and grain which were stacked in the fields. Before she 

9 


98 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


could get her children to the upper story of the house, the 
water was twenty-two inches deep on the lower floor, putting 
out her fire, and washing the ashes about the room. After 
securing her children, finding that the immense mass of stuff, 
brought down by the water, was collecting against the house, 
and thus endangering it, she took her clothes-pole, and, during 
the continuation of that violent tempest, stood and pushed 
away the logs and timbers as they came rushing against the 
dwelling. 

For years the Crawfords were the only ones to entertain 
travellers to the mountains. The house at the head of the 
Notch, formerly known as the “ Crawford House,” was 
built by Ethan and his father, and was kept, for many years, 
by one of the sons. All the bridle-paths, on the western side 
of the mountains, were cut by them, and for many years they 
were the only guides who dared conduct visitors to the sum¬ 
mit. A melancholy incident is connected with the u Craw¬ 
ford House” bridle-paths, showing the folly of attempting to 
ascend those rugged and broken heights without a guide. 

An Englishman, by the name of Frederick Strickland, came 
to the Crawford House, then kept by T. J. Crawford, Oct. 
18th, 1840. The next day he left the house, in company 
with another Englishman and a guide, to ascend the moun¬ 
tains. When they reached Mount Pleasant, the guide and 
the other Englishman, on account of the cold, and snow on 
the mountain, proposed to return, and strongly advised Mr. 
Strickland to do the same. In defiance of all this, however, 
he persisted, and would go on. He delivered up his horse to 
the guide, and proceeded, on foot, toward the summit of 
Mount Washington, intending to come down Mr. Fabyan’s 
bridle-path. 

The guide and the other gentleman returned to Mr. Craw- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


99 


ford’s. In the mean time Mr. Crawford sent the baggage of 
Mr. Strickland to Mr. Fabyan’s, with word that its owner 
might be expected to come down from the mountain and stay 
with him that night. But, as he did not come that night, 
Fabyan thought he had returned to Mr. Crawford’s. The next 
morning, however, Mr. Crawford chancing to pass, inquired 
for him. This excited alarm, and they both started in pursuit 
of him. They found his track on the mountains, and followed 
that until night, making no discovery of anything but some 
of his clothes. 

The next day they started, with others added, and found 
him dead. He had precipitated himself over some rough 
descent in his path, and lay at its base a lifeless corpse. He 
was the eldest son of Sir George Strickland, an eminent 
English baronet, recently member of Parliament for the county 
of York. He was about thirty-five years of age, and heir to 
large estates. 

At the time of his death, he had been in this country but 
a few months. He was a graduate of Cambridge University, 
in England, and was a cultivated scholar. 

The frightful condition of those lost on these mountains, 
during one of those sudden storms, which so frequently come 
upon them, cannot be better described than in the words of 
one who experienced all its horrors. A party of young men 
had rashly undertaken the ascent alone, quite early in the 
season. After wandering all day amid the precipices and 
defiles, night and a misty, foggy storm at last came on, com¬ 
pletely bewildering them. 

u The slanting remains of sunlight faded into deep shadow. 
The light troops of a vast army of dense mists, sweeping low 
over our heads, came shutting off the last light, and, even as 
we looked in wonder, the wonder faded into fear as the 


100 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

massive body of the cloudy host charged upon us. It was a 
cold, thick fog — the coldest and solidest I ever felt; appar¬ 
ently filled, indeed, with little particles of snow, which smote 
upon our summer clothing and chilled us through and 
through in an instant. Thicker and thicker it poured past, in 
interminable volumes, taking our remaining strength away 
with the warmth of our bodies, and our courage with our 
strength. We thought, in this perplexity, to follow the ridge 
on one of whose summits we were, downwards, and to grope 
our way out to the valley of the Saco, by following the fall of 
the ravines. We could not see twenty feet. The darkness, 
as the sun fell, momently increased. Our little local recol¬ 
lections having been frightened away by the mist. — thoroughly 
befogged in a double sense, — we had quite forgotten which 
way the ridge sloped downwards. Having followed it some 
distance in one direction, and coming to an ascent, we con¬ 
cluded we were going wrong, and went the other way. Un¬ 
dertaking, this time, to be persevering, we kept on until we 
got fairly away from the neighborhood of our resting-place, 
followed one or two cross ridges, which offered a fallacious pros¬ 
pect of leading us somewhither, and, just as night fell, were 
thoroughly lost; colder, wearier, hungrier, and more scared 
than ever. We could not now see a step; and, moreover, had 
been, for an hour, stumbling and even falling from the weak¬ 
ness of excessive fatigue. But we dared not sit or lie down, 
lest the numbing sleep of the frost-cloud should take our lives 
away on its white, cold wings. So we even betook ourselves 
to quadrupedal progression. "We crawled cautiously along, 
lowering each hand and knee with a separate care, to avoid 
cuts and scratches, and feeling out forward into the gloom, 
which seemed to press close upon our eyelids, so dense and 
palpable was it. We spoke to each other continually, lest we 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 101 


should become separated. Over and over again I put forth 
my hand for the next step, and, upon quietly dropping it, 
found nothing under it. That was a sign that I was within 
six inches of some precipice. Then I called a halt, and cau¬ 
tiously advanced one foot over the brink. If I could reach a 
footing below, we crawled down ; if not, we coasted along the 
edge, or tried another course. Over how many hundred feet 
of sheer descent I may have hung by the slippery hold of one 
hand and one knee,— over what dark and empty depths, 
floored with edged and pitiless ledges, teeth of primeval stone, 
I put out helpless hand or foot into the ghostly gloom,—I 
know not, nor do I care to "know; but the helplessness of 
the unseen gesture yet burdens my memory. It has often 
haunted my rest. For years, if any slight disorder superin¬ 
duced a dreaming condition, I was in dreams at intervals 
driven by cold mists or viewless winds through interminable 
chasms walking up to heaven, where I saw that seeking ges¬ 
ture repeated to infinity. Over every ledge would then be put 
forth a helpless hand, pointing to me, clutching at the thick 
mist, holding wide-spread fingers stretched stiffly out, sweeping 
slowly hither and thither, vibrating up and down in frantic 
indecision ; indicating dreadful variations upon the solitary 
theme of utter and desperate loss and helplessness. 

“ So we wandered, until it became evident, as, indeed, it 
would have been before, if we had reasoned deliberately, that 
we should shortly become absolutely unable even to crawl, 
and should then, of necessity, fall over a crag, or stiffen and 
die. We, therefore, felt about for a soft rock; and having 
found one which, if not actually soft, was, at least, rather 
smoother than most, and, moreover, a little sheltered from the 
wind-driven frost-fog, we slept and watched alternately, in 
miserable five or ten minute snatches, until some time in the 

9 * 


I 


102 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

latter part of the niglit, spending the time allotted to watch¬ 
ing in thrashing the arms about, kicking, stamping, and the 
other doleful manoeuvres which are useful in fighting against 
severe cold and overpowering drowsiness. At last after an in¬ 
definite quantity — it might, so far as any perception of the 
passage of time was concerned, have been a week— of wretch¬ 
ed dozing and waking, the last detachment of the dreadful fog 
scudded over us. The moon and stars shone out, most glo¬ 
rious and welcome to behold. We drained the remainder of 
our brandy, summoned the remainder of our strength, and re¬ 
sumed our last plan of getting out of the mountains, by follow¬ 
ing the fall of the water-courses. We climbed, with many falls 
and much danger, all stiff and chilled as we were, hardly retain¬ 
ing any sensation beyond our elbows and knees, and articulating 
only with difficulty, down into a ravine, along whose lowest 
rift we stumbled, sometimes in shadow and sometimes in the 
uncertain gleam of the moonlight, but free, at least, from the 
deadly cold and impenetrable darkness of the frost-fog.” 

Narfcy’s Brook and Nancy's Bridge are so familiar to all 
who have ever visited the mountains, or know anything of 
their history, that we could not, if we would, omit the inci¬ 
dent which gave them this name. 

The stream itself is about half a mile below the Mt. Crawfford 
House, and comes rushing down from unknown heights in the 
dark forest above. “ And any one, who has the least capa¬ 
bility of appreciating scenes of wildness and desolation, will 
be amply repaid for following, for a mile, the course of the 
stream, among the crags, as it comes leaping in indescribable 
clearness and beauty dow T n the mountain. During the lapse 
of ages, this stream has cut a channel, in some places thirty 
feet deep, through the rock, and rushes, foaming on its way, 
with perpendicular walls on each side. The rocks around 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 103 


are worn into most grotesque forms, and the eye is never 
■weary in gazing upon the cascades and deep transparent 
basins. In one of its wildest portions the stream is spanned 
by a rustic structure called Nancy’s Bridge.” 

Nancy was a servant-girl in the family of Col. Whipple, 
of whom we have before spoken in our account of Jefferson. 
A man, also in the employ of the colonel, had won the heart 
of the poor girl, and between them there was an engagement 
of marriage. 

It was the intention of the two, or at least of Nancy, and 
she supposed of the man from what he had promised her, to 
accompany Col. Whipple on his usual fall visit to Portsmouth, 
and there be married. But a few days previous to the time 
she supposed they were to start, she gave her money, which 
the colonel had paid her for her services, to her lover for safe¬ 
keeping until their arrival at Portsmouth, and had gone to 
Lancaster, a distance of nine miles, to make some purchases 
necessary for the journey. 

While she was away at Lancaster, suspecting no evil, 
the colonel and her lover set out upon their journey. Whether 
Col. Whipple was aware of her intention of accompanying 
him w~e cannot say. If he was not, no blame, of course, can 
be attached to him, but, if he was, he was equally guilty with 
his treacherous companion. But leaving the guilt, it is im¬ 
possible to describe the grief and disappointment of the poor 
girl when she learned their departure without her. She had 
not left Lancaster when it was made known to her, but she 
determined at once to follow them. She immediately left 
Lancaster for Jefferson. At Jefferson the men in Col. Whip¬ 
ple’s family endeavored to dissuade her from so perilous an 
undertaking, urging the many difficulties she would have to 
encounter, and that the colonel had been gone since early in 


104 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


the morning; but nothing could detain her. She tied up a 
small bundle of clothing, and set out, already wet and fatigued 
by her long walk from Lancaster. The snow was deep, no 
path but spotted trees, and night had already set in, when 
she again started. Since sunset, the snow had commenced 
falling, and a bitter north-west wind drove it in blinding 
masses against the almost frozen wanderer. Her object was 
to reach the Notch, a distance of thirty miles, where Col. 
Whipple had a camp, and would undoubtedly stop the night. 
Could she reach there before they had started in the morning 
her object would be accomplished. This hope buoying her 
up, she travelled on through the live-long night, and arrived 
at the camp not long after the colonel and his man had left, 
for the fire they had kindled had not yet gone out. 

Completely exhausted and worn out, as she must have been, 
by fatigue and hunger, not having eaten anything since she 
left Jefferson, she still determined to persevere and overtake 
them if possible. Accordingly, after w 7 arming herself, she 
again set out. But it was too much ; her already overtaxed 
strength gave out but a short distance after she had left the 
camp. In crossing the little stream, since called Nancy’s 
brook, her clothes had become wet, and near the top of the 
opposite bank, she sat down at the foot of an aged tree to 
rest. Here she was found, not many hours after, her head 
resting upon her staff, frozen to death. 

“ Cold ’s the snow at my head, 

And cold’s the snow at my feet; 

And the finger of death’s at my eyes, 

Closing them to sleep. 

Let none tell my father. 

Or my mother so dear ; 

I ’ll meet them both in heaven. 

At the spring-time of the year.” 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 105 


When Nancy left Col. Whipple’s, in Jefferson, the men who 
had tried to dissuade her from starting, thinking she would * 
not go far in so blustering a night, but w T ould soon return, did 
not think of following her. As the evening wore away, and 
she did not return, they grew anxious lest she should perish 
in the snow, and set out in pursuit of her. After expecting, 
during the whole night, their next step would bring them upon 
her, they at last reached the camp, where the fire she had 
just left was yet burning. Resting here but a few moments, 
they hurried on, and found her just across the brook as w T e 
have described. 

The treacherous lover survived her not long, but died in 
a few years, a raging maniac, in a mad-house. A writer of 
fiction has made the moans and wailings of the poor lover to 
be heard even now at times around the death-place of the 
deceived Nancy. In the still night the mountains surround¬ 
ing echo the bitter lamentations. A most amusing anecdote 
may illustrate all the noises of this description usually heard 
around the Notch. The above writer may have passed 
through a similar scene, and if so, he may readily be pardoned 
for his ghostly proclivities. 

A peculiar, superstitious man, some years ago, passing up 
through the Notch to Lancaster from his residence in Bart¬ 
lett, camped out in the woods, not far from his path. He 
was unused to camping in the woods, and in the outset felt 
some beatings of heart. He made the best of it, however, 
and laid down. He gained courage, and thought he should 
pass the night like a hero. He verged towards sleeping. It 
almost came to him. He was in a transition state, half-sleep¬ 
ing and half-waking. But, ah ! what was that ? A dismal 
sound was in his ears. What was it ? Where was it ? He 
rose up on his elbow, looked and listened. Now it comes 


106 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


again, right from over his head, a peal or a screech that 
pierced him through and through. Ah ! indeed, thought he, 
for he dare not speak, what can that bo ? Now he trembled, 
he sweat, his head swam, his teeth chattered. He tried to 
think of something he should do or say. But, 0 ! there it is 
again. Screech, screech, screech ! It seemed as if the very 
hemlocks would shake off their leaves over his head. Now 
he was whist as the night-dew, still as he could possibly be, 
just breathing out from under his blanket, hoping the spirit 
would go; but no, there it is again. 0, dear, what a screech ! 
It comes again and again. It seems as if all the wizards in 
the universe were there. Now he rises up, shuddering though 
he did from his crown down to his very toes. For a moment 
he sat hesitating, one shudder following another, till he 
spake out, “ You wizard, begone ! I tell you, begone ! Dis¬ 
perse yourself! I charge you, begone ! Leave me!” He 
kept on in this way till finally he succeeded. The owl left, 
and after a while he lay down quietly under his blanket and 
slept. 

A singular auroral display occurred a few years since at 
the mountains, causing almost as much wonder and astonish¬ 
ment to the beholders as the first appearance of the Aurora 
Borealis to the people of New England in 1719. A corre¬ 
spondent of one of the Boston papers, who witnessed the whole 
scene, has finely described it. 

“ White Mountain Notch, September, 1851. 

“ Meteoric phenomena of such a wonderful kind were wit¬ 
nessed here last Saturday evening, that they seemed to those 
travelling in that region, who were fortunate enough to be¬ 
hold them, to demand some public notice, and I trust you 
will concur with us in our opinion, although no description, 
much less my own, can do justice to this singularly brilliant, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 107 


and even appalling, display of celestial fire-works. During 
the whole of the evening we observed the ordinary tranquil 
aurora, illuminating a portion of the northern hemisphere, 
and shining with a mild, steady, white light, but remarked 
no variation of color or form ; and it was not till about half- 
past eleven that the avant courier of the coming exhibition 
appeared in the shape of a luminous band, stretching suddenly 
across the sky, oscillating with a tremulous motion. A gen¬ 
tleman from Philadelphia had proposed walking down into the 
Notch to view it by moonlight; and as we drew near it, the 
twin Titans guarding the entrance stood boldly forth against a 
sky of unusual clearness, while the mist collected in the val¬ 
ley, lit up by the moon and stars, resembled a sleeping lake. 

“ Having advanced quite a distance into the Notch, we re¬ 
clined upon an elevated rock to contemplate the rugged gran¬ 
deur of the cliffs as they rose in the clear, soft light, when 
our eyes were greeted by the above-mentioned phenomenon. 
As we lay flat on our backs, on a sudden, from the upper 
edge of the shining segment in the north, while the lower 
part grew dark, shot forth innumerable rays, like jets of liquid 
light, which preserved their form a moment, appearing like a 
resplendent diadem of solid diamond on the Egyptian brow 
of night. Oblong spots of a brilliant light now sprang into 
view in various quarters, which, becoming gradually elongated, 
burst at the top, scattering masses of light in all directions. 
Soon broad, shining columns emerged from different points in 
the horizon, moving slowly at first, then darting up with in¬ 
credible swiftness, suddenly vanishing and reappearing of 
increased brilliancy, eclipsing the light of the planets and 
moon — now chasing each other in lightning race around the 
sky, and finally enlarging, after infinite changes of form, so 
as to occupy the whole heavens. A universal, undulating 


108 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


motion, similar to the swell of the sea, or the motion of a 
wind-swept field of grain, but more rapid than the dart of the 
frightened serpent, now proved the precursor of increased 
beauty, and of the most truly amazing phenomena. A small 
pitchy cloud, of irregular form, appears at the zenith, which, 
as it were, kindles and emits tongues of flame of the most 
variegated and brilliant hues — green, purple, pink, golden 
and violet, and streams of fire, shooting in a sinuous course, 
as when 

* Hell’s standard-bearer, 

-from the glittering staff unfurled 

The imperial ensign, which, full-nigh advanced, 

Shone like a meteor, streaming to the wind. 

With gems and golden lustre rich emblazed ; ’ 

while, all over the heavens, cloud-like masses, flushed with the 
richest tints, like the glancing light on the polished steel, 
evolve in the twinkling of an eye countless forms of beauty, 
as, following the chieftain’s ensign, 

‘ All in a moment through the gloom were seen 
Ten thousand banners rising in the air, 

With orient colors waving.’ 

And sulphurous flames, seeming to issue from the mountain, 
darted from behind, resembling the bursting forth of volcanic 
fires. Such a scene, calculated to excite the noblest emotions, 
I never expect to behold again ; it w r as worth a voyage across 
the Atlantic. It might be compared to a vast canopy, or 
tent, suspended from the zenith, inwrought with gold and 
silver, rubies and emeralds, and shaken by a mighty wind. 
And it would not require a vivid imagination, for one, shut in 
as we were by eternal rocks, with the sky kindling over our 
heads, to see above him the fretted roof of Pandemonium set 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


109 


with 1 crests, fed with naphtha and asphaltus,’ and around, 
gigantic forms reposing on their couches ; or to think ‘ her 
stores were opened, and this firmament,’ spouting cataracts 
of fire ; ‘ impendent horrors threatening insidious fall.’ 

“ Nearly all the colors of the spectrum were exhibited in 
dazzling succession, green being especially prominent, which 
our landlord told us, has never been seen here before, though 
red is quite common. Nothing was wanting except the hiss¬ 
ing and crackling noises sometimes heard here, and frequent 
in high northern latitudes : the solemn stillness, however, 
added, I thought, to the sublimity of the scene. 

‘‘After the lapse of about half an hour, the varied colors 
gradually faded, and a dim, white light alone remained in 
the northern sky. The Aurora Borealis of Lapland, as de¬ 
scribed by Maupertuis and others, are very similar to this 
display. The weather at the mountains for two or three days 
has been the warmest of the season; the thermometer ranging 
ninety to ninety-eight degrees.” 

10 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE SLIDES. 

THE EFFECT OF THE TURNPIKE UPON TRAVEL THROUGH THE NOTCH. -COOS 

TEAMSTERS. — PLEASURE TRAVEL.-WANT OF PUBLIC HOUSES.-THE FIRST 

HOUSE BUILT AT THE NOTCH. — MOVING OF MR. WILLEY TO THE NOTCH.- 

THE FIRST WINTER AFTER HIS REMOVAL. -THE FIRST SLIDE IN JUNE. — 

THE FEARS OF MR. WILLEY AND HIS FAMILY. -THE GREAT STORM. -THE 

GREAT DROUGHT PREVIOUS TO THE STORM.-THEORY OF SLIDES.-THE 

FIRST SIGNS OF THE STORM.-THE GATHERING OF THE CLOUDS ABOUT THE 

MOUNTAINS AS SEEN FROM CONWAY.-NIGIIT OF THE DISASTER.-VERY 

PECULIAR APPEARANCE OF THE MOUNTAINS ABOUT MIDNIGHT.-RAPID RISE 

OF THE SACO IN CONWAY.-FIRST DISCOVERY OF SLIDES.- FIRST NEWS 

FROM THE NOTCH.-THE SHRILL VOICE IN THE DARKNESS.-THE CON¬ 
FIRMATION OF THE FIRST REPORT.-THE MANNER OF COMMUNICATING THE 

NEWS.—THE TRUMPET AT MIDNIGHT. -SETTING OUT FOR THE NOTCH. - 

CONDITION OF THE ROADS. — THE APPEARANCE OF THE SACO VALLEY.- 

ARRIVAL AT THE “ WILLEY HOUSE.” — SEARCH FOR THE BODIES.-FIND¬ 
ING OF SOME OF THE BODIES.-BURIAL.-THE PRAYER AT THE GRAVE.- 

FINDING OF OTHER BODIES. -OXEN.-THE FIRST NIGHT SPENT IN THE 

HOUSE SUCCEEDING THE STORM. 


“ 0 loneliest, wildest, most forsaken spot ! 

Here in the valley’s lowest depth embowered, 
Eeposed in humblest guise one poor, rude cot, 
Beneath its eaves the wild geranium flowered ; 

On the few sharers of its lowly lot 

Plenty and Peace and Love their blessings showered. 

But Danger came and rattled at its door ; 

Silence and Safety, the old warders fled, 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. Ill 


And one returned to that lone place no more ; 

A midnight darkness o’er the sky was spread, 

Lightning and storm, with flash and gusty roar, 

Loosened, and on its fearful errand sped 

The rocky avalanche, crashing, strong and blind, 

While Terror stalked before, and Death was close behind.” 

The Tenth Turnpike in New Hampshire, says an old 
Gazetteer, was incorporated in the year 1803, December 
27th, to extend from the west line of Bartlett through the 
Notch of the White Hills, a distance of twenty miles. It oc¬ 
cupied the site of a laid-out but never well-finished county 
road, which had been projected years before. The effects of 
the labors of the incorporated company were soon seen in the 
increasing travel. In a short time from its opening it became 
one of the best paying turnpikes in northern New Hampshire. 
The only outlet to the large portion of country north of the 
White Mountains, beginning then to be settled, its numerous 
advantages were not long in being appreciated. Prior to the 
extension of the northern railroads, and the opening of the 
numerous markets along their lines, its demand, as an outlet 
to the Coos, was much more strongly felt than at present. 
The original cost of the road was forty thousand dollars, its 
repairs were many and expensive, and yet its dividends were 
large, and its stock always good. 

Portland, the nearest and most accessible of the seaboard 
towns, was, in those days, the great market for all this part 
of New Hampshire. Well can we remember the long train 
of Coos teams which used to formerly pass through Conway. 
In winter, more particularly, we have seen lines of teams half 
a mile in length ; the tough, scrubby, Canadian horses har¬ 
nessed to “ pungs,” well loaded down with pork, cheese, butter 
and lard, the drivers rivalling almost the modern locomotive 


112 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


and its more elegant train of carriages in noise and bluster. 
Hardy, resolute men were those early settlers of the Coos; 

“-Rough, 

But generous and brave and kind.’ 

Besides this Coos travel, compelled, as it were, to pass 
through this gateway of the mountains, the mountains them¬ 
selves had already begun to attract much attention. Visitors 
to them, though few in comparison with the large numbers 
winch now resort thither, journeyed mostly in private car¬ 
riages, and thus gave to their travel an importance far beyond 
what at the present time the same number would command. 

The want of public houses on the road, especially through 
the mountains, to accommodate the increasing travel, was 
sorely felt. From the elder Crawford’s to the old Bosebrook 
place, where recently stood the Mount Washington House, a 
distance of thirteen miles, there was no public house, indeed no 
occupied house. To appreciate fully the necessity there was 
for these places of shelter, one should pass north through the 
Notch in the depth of winter. The roads are then buried 
beneath the snow, piled up in drifts to a great depth. This 
is continually blown about by the wind so as to render im¬ 
possible a well-beaten path. The traveller has, frequently, 
shovel in hand, to work his way through the mountains, the 
cold northern winds, concentrated by their passage through 
the Notch, blowing directly in his face, almost instantly 
penetrating and benumbing him. 

To open, then, a public house somewhere on this distance, 
it was seen, would be not only a work of profit, but of kind¬ 
ness. For this purpose a house had been erected, some years 
previous to the time of which we write, by a Mr. Henry Hill, 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


113 


and is yet standing, being familiarly known as the 11 Willey 
House.” It was kept by Mr. Hill and others as a public 
house for several years, but was at length abandoned, and, at 
the time of my brother's moving into it, had been untenanted 
for several months. It was in the fall of the year 1825 that 
he first moved his family into this house. It had been 
roughly used by the mountain storms and winds, and needed 
much repairing. The fall was accordingly spent in making 
it comfortable for the winter. He enlarged the stable, and 
made such other improvements as time would allow, to make 
it a comfortable shelter for man and beast. But, with all his 
most earnest labors, he was but imperfectly prepared for the 
intense cold and storms of those mountain winters. Still he 
was hailed as a benefactor, and often were he and his shelter 
greeted with as much warmth by the traveller in those moun¬ 
tain passes, as the monks of St. Bernard by the wanderers 
upon the Alps. 

The winter passed, nothing unusual occurring, beyond the 
arrival and departure of his various company. In the spring 
further improvements were projected and commenced in his 
buildings, with the design of making them worthy of the in¬ 
creasing patronage. Travellers, who had been his guests, 
often gave us flattering accounts of his success, and not the 
least apprehension was felt for his safety. The first thing that 
particularly diversified his history and awakened his fears, was 
the slide which took place in June following the spring just 
referred to. 

In the afternoon of one dull, misty day during this month, 
he and his wife were sitting by a window, that looked out to 
the north and west. Before them rose in all its grandeur 
the mountain which is called by their name, “Willey Moun¬ 
tain.” The clouds and mists almost entirely covered the 

10 * 


114 INCIDENTS IN .WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


mountain ; but, as they cleared up and the surface came out 
to view, they saw distinctly a large mass of earth beginning 
to move. It passed slowly on, increasing in volume and 
extent, stopping occasionally, as it were to take breath, and 
at last rushed into the valley beneath. This was quickly 
followed by another, less in magnitude and extent. These 
slides took place near the house, and did no injury beyond 
greatly exciting their fears. 

They were startled by them, and took counsel from their 
fears at first to leave the place. It is said, and is probably 
correct, that my brother, under the first panic, was even 
about getting ready his carriage to carry his family to some 
place of greater safety. He felt for the moment that he 
must leave. 

But still it is certain he did not leave the place. He 
grew more calm in a short time, and, not long after the period 
referred to, became almost entirely unapprehensive of danger. 
I never saw him after this event, but was told repeatedly that 
he apprehended no danger to himself or family from what had 
passed. In conversation with a person on the subject, in 
reply to a query as to his feelings in relation to the recent 
slides, he said, “ Such an event, we know, has not happened 
here for a very long time past, and another of the kind is not 
likely to occur for an equally long time to come. Taking 
things past in this view, then,” said he, “1 am not afraid.” 
This was certainly fair reasoning on the matter, and such as we 
might all well make under like circumstances, though now 
we can see, in the light of all that is past, how little it availed 
in respect to the calamity that awaited him so soon. His 
unsuspicious calmness did not protect him from danger. It 
rather presaged evil than good. It was the dreadful felt 
stillness that often, perhaps always, precedes the earthquake. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 115 


Now we perceive that the events we have written above had a 
dreadful significance in them. 

In August, succeeding the June we have just referred to, 
a storm took place in the region of the White Mountains, 
raging in and about the Notch with peculiar violence. It 
was memorable for its strength and for its disastrous effects. 
It can never be forgotten while a single individual shall 
exist that lived anywhere near the place in which it trans¬ 
pired, or any care be taken to transmit the account of it to 
succeeding times. I lived at North Conway at the time 
of it, and can, therefore, best present what I have to say 
from that point. 

Previous to the time in which this storm took place, there 
had been a long and heavy drought. The earth, under a 
fervid sun, had dried to an unusual depth. This prepared the 
way for the surface of it to be operated on more powerfully 
by any quick and copious rain. The soil, dried deep and 
powdered somewhat, would slide easier under the pressure of 
any accumulating waters, especially if the roots of plants that 
traversed it had been made tender by the long-continued heat 
that had been upon them. In this, perhaps, v r e have as 
good a theory of slides as any that can be made. 

As the month verged towards its closing, signs of rain 
began to appear. Clouds gathered on the sky, and though 
they would disperse in a short time, quickly they would 
gather again. They continued to do this a number of days 
in succession, every day assuming more permanence than 
they did the preceding one. At length they became so con¬ 
densed, that they gave rain, small in quantity to be sure, but 
some — a signal of w T hat w T as to follow. In this w r ay, things 
went on till the storm came on in its strength. 

The great disaster, in the destruction of my brother and 


116 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


his whole family, consisting of his wife and five children, 
together with two hired men, took place on the night of the 
twenty-eighth of this month, August. That day came on 
Monday, and the disaster took place some time during the 
night of that day. I was away from home on an exchange 
the Sabbath previous, and remember well all the circum¬ 
stances and events of the gathering storm. On Monday, as I 
came home, I recollect I was hindered by the rain, occasion¬ 
ally falling in showers; so that, though I had but compara¬ 
tively a few miles to come, I did not reach home till near 
sunset. 

On my way, as I came up from the south toward my 
residence, I had the most favorable opportunity to note the 
gathering clouds. Their movements were all before me, and 
I had only to look and see them. I had often seen storms 
gather in the regions of those compacted and elevated moun¬ 
tains, but never before with such grandeur and awfulness. 
The clouds were not so rapid in motion as I had seen before, 
but their volume and blackness made up, and more than made 
up, for the want of speed. Their comparative slow movement, 
indeed, added greatly to the sublimity of their appearance. 
They reminded one of some heavy armed legions moving 
slowly and steadily to battle. As they sailed up the giant 
outline of mountain range extending from Chicorua peak 
northward for miles, till you come to the White Mountains, 
and then, pressing upon them, covering them fold after fold 
with their dark solemn drapery, I could but think of the 
march of Napoleon, and the measured tread of his infantry, 
loaded heavily with armor, moving on to some warlike 
encounter. 

They were, in all truth, the very significant portents of 
a most affecting scene of destruction. As we anticipated, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 117 


things in the sequel transpired. At the close of that day, 
when the darkness was just coming on, it began to rain ; and 
such a rain I never knew before. The way for it had been 
prepared, and now it came on in its fury. I was not con¬ 
scious of all of it, especially the latter part. Being somewhat 
fatigued, I retired early and slept soundly. As it appeared 
afterwards, I slept calmly while others, not very far off, my 
kindred, even, were suffering and dying. Not long after 
midnight, I was waked suddenly by the slamming of a large 
door, on the barn, that was ajar and playing in the wind. 
I arose quickly and went out. As I passed round the corner 
of the house to go to the barn, which stood north, in the 
direction of the White Mountains, my eyes fell directly 
upon them. I saw something about them unusual. It was 
all clear overhead, not a cloud on the sky, and the moon 
shone brightly. The storm had passed off. On the White 
Mountains there lay, close down upon them, a large, dark cov¬ 
ering of clouds. It appeared like a pall thrown over sugar- 
loaves of unequal heights. Save this, all above and about 
them was clear and cloudless. 

Out of them were seen, at short intervals, vivid light¬ 
nings. I heard no thunder; I saw only the lightnings. They 
continued till I had done my work, and returned to the house. 
These were unusual as we have said; but whatever there might 
be in them, peculiar in character, we may consider them now 
the after scene of the storm, just passed, and as impending 
the spot where death had just ceased its revel. 

I had remained in the house but a short time when word 
came to my door that the intervales were being entirely 
covered with water, and that they must immediately be cleared 
of the cattle and horses that w r ere upon them. As we came 
up from the intervales, having accomplished the object, we 


118 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


could but take notice of the marked effects of the storm on 
the White Mountains. There was plainly visible to the eye 
the terrible devastations it had produced. All the portions 
of them facing the south indicated clearly the desolating in¬ 
fluences of the rains that had fallen so copiously on their 
summits and sides. I never saw such in all my life ; and I 
had looked on those mountains, upon an average, scores of 
times every week for years. It was judged that more de¬ 
struction of trees, and more displacing of rocks and earth, were 
made on the declivities of the mountain facing our post of 
observation, on that terrible night, than had been made since 
the country was settled. And this was but a part of the 
' destruction produced. On other sides of the mountains, quite 
round the whole circumference, were gorges and grooves, 
made deep even on the hard mountain surface, to show that 
the destroyer had been there. 

We were so occupied on Tuesday, the day succeeding the 
storm, with what was directly before us,— the heavy flood 
sweeping over the fields so near at hand, and the sight of 
wasting on the mountains looming up before us, — that we 
could hardly think of anything else. 

On Wednesday early, perhaps on Tuesday, suggestions 
were made a few times in my hearing respecting things about 
the Notch ; starting the inquiry how the storm might pos¬ 
sibly affect my brother and his family. They were but sug¬ 
gestions, however, indicating no particular anxiety in relation 
to their safety, as there was certainly none with myself or 
any of his kindred near me. As yet we had heard nothing 
from him up nearly to the close of Wednesday. 

Near the close of that day our suspicions were, for the 
first time, really aroused as to the safety of my brother’s 
family. Dr. Chadbourne, our physician, on his return from 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 119 


Bartlett, whither he had been on a visit to his patients, in¬ 
formed us that he had heard the whole family were destroyed. 
He had seen at Bartlett a man, who had just come down 
through the Notch, who had given him the information. So 
entirely unsuspicious had we been of any danger to them, and 
so unprepared for the reception of such tidings, that for the 
moment we were overcome. 

Recovering somewhat from the stunning effects of such sad 
tidings, we went immediately to a sister’s, who lived near. 
She had heard the same reports ; but both of us, arguing 
rather from our hopes than the facts, were inclined to dis¬ 
believe the story. To satisfy ourselves, however, further on 
the subject, it w^as thought best to go at once to my father’s, 
who lived two miles north of us, near Bartlett. Mr. Thomp¬ 
son, my sister’s husband, and myself, accordingly set out. 

We found him having received the news as we had, from 
the same source, and about the same in amount of informa¬ 
tion. He was entirely unimpressed with the correctness of 
the report, and immediately calmed our fears. He said he 
knew the Notch well, which w T as the fact, all its bearings and 
relations, and though he had heard what he had, still he did 
not think, from the best judgment he could make, that the 
family were destroyed. Though they were not in their late 
place of residence, he thought they were alive in some retreat, 
whither they had fled from the ruins of the storm. The idea 
that the family were all destroyed was too much for him to 
entertain. He thought that, notwithstanding all which had 
been reported, and all the danger that must have surrounded 
them that dreadful night, still they were among the living. 

The calmness and reasoning of my father almost entirely 
reassured and convinced us that the rumors must be entirely 


120 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


incorrect. We sat some time conversing, and the evening 
was considerably advanced before we left for home. 

It was quite dark, and very still. Our minds still occu¬ 
pied with the recent storm, and its terrible ravages, we were 
suddenly startled by a sharp, shrill voice, coming apparently 
from the river below us on the right, and saying, as we 
thought, “ They are there.” Breaking so suddenly upon the 
still night, it was like the shrill cry of some bird of prey 
piercing the darkness. It was many minutes ere we could 
collect ourselves to come to any satisfactory conclusion con¬ 
cerning the voice. Being nearly opposite Mrs. Lovejoy’s, 
the mother of my brother’s wife, we at length concluded that 
the family had had additional tidings from the Notch, and that 
one of the sisters was informino- some one on our side of the 

O 

river of the safety of the family at the Notch, and that they 
were all in their late home. 

As we learned afterwards, we were correct in the conclusion 
at which we arrived; but not in the words of the speaker. 
It was “ They are not there,” instead of “ They are there.” 

Much relieved by the contradictions of the first report by 
later news, as we supposed, we hastened home. Though we* 
had seen on every hand the terrible ravages of the storm, — 
the mountains scathed and torn by the torrents, and the waters 
running in floods at our feet, before and behind us on all sides 
wasting destruction, — yet, so anxious were we that it should 
not be true, and so strangely forgetful of the awful danger 
which must have threatened our brother, that we retired to 
our beds almost entirely relieved of our anxiety. 

But that delusive impression did not remain long. It did 
not continue through the night. The dawn of another day 
had scarcely come, when renewed tidings from the Notch 
made it quite certain that my brother and his family were 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


121 


destroyed. The manner in which these tidings were trans¬ 
mitted to us, at a certain point of their progress, it may not 
be uninteresting here to present. It shows how in all respects 
the whole scene of the Notch disaster was filled up with the 
most thrilling and soul-stirring incidents. 

As I have said, my father was comparatively little moved 
under the first heavy tidings that came from the Notch. He 
reasoned them all down with his usual tact and calmness, and 
made them the occasion of little serious alarm to himself and 
others. But he must be corrected. He had come to a 
wrong conclusion, and a messenger was already on his way 
that would correct him. This messenger arrived in the 
adjoining neighborhood of my father about midnight, to which 
we have already referred, when that shrill female voice was 
heard in the darkness. He was there stopped by the Saco, 
swollen still with the effects of the recent storm. But he 
carried important tidings which must be communicated. He 
was sent for this very purpose. So, to get ears to hear them, 
he stood on the river’s brink, the nearest possible point to my 
father's, and sounded a trumpet. It was a shrill blast, and 
•startled all my father’s neighborhood from their repose. 

The startled sleepers, soon gathered on the river’s bank, 
learned the sad tidings, but too truly confirming the reports 
of the previous evening; and then started most of them on 
their way to the Notch. 

I did not hear that blast of the trumpet, — or those blasts, 
for the first was often repeated,—but those that did, say they 
never heard anything so impressive and solemn. At any 
time they would have been startling, pealing as they did 
through the darkness of midnight. But, under the circum¬ 
stances before us, they were peculiarly impressive. The sad 
tidings of the evening before, though not generally credited, 

11 


122 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

had yet left a deep impression and sadness on the minds of 
all in my father’s neighborhood. With these feelings they 
had retired. Whether sleeping or waking, dim images must 
have been floating through their minds, from the evening’s 
conversation, when suddenly they were roused by repeated 
trumpet-blasts, raising echoes from mountains in almost every 
direction. 


“ Bursting suddenly, it calls and flies, 

At breathless intervals, along the skies, 

As if some viewless sentinel were there, 

Whose challenge peals at midnight through the air.” 

My brother, who heard these trumpet-calls, has often said 
he never heard anything to be compared with them for 
w r hat was awe-inspiring and even dreadful in its character. 

The confirmed reports soon reached all the relatives of the 
destroyed family. By daylight the news was spreading in 
all directions, and people were starting for the Notch. We 
went generally on foot, there being a few horses in the train 
until they were intercepted by the swollen river. We passed 
this river in boats and on trees fallen across it, the bridges 
being mostly carried away. With little of interest to diver¬ 
sify our way, save some additional reports that my bro¬ 
ther’s family were destroyed, we approached the scene of 
destruction, entering the opening a hundred rods perhaps 
below the Notch House, which was still hidden from our 
sight by an intervening ascent. We met the first great 
slide, which had crossed our path on level ground, and even 
ascending some, so great was the force which propelled it 
from the base of the mountains. After passing this, which 
consisted of large rocks, and trees, and sand, and which was 
impassable, except by footmen, and reaching the elevation, 


















































































. 



















SLIDE 













































INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 128 


we came in full view of the Notch House, and all the ruins 
that surrounded it. On our right stood in lengthened prospect 
the precipitous mountain, which had been riven by the fires 
and tempests of many succeeding years. On our left and in 
front, the mountains, though once covered with a wood of 
pleasant green, now presented their sides lacerated and torn 
by the convulsions of the recent storm. The plain before us 
appeared one continuous bed of sand and rocks, with here and 
there the branches of green trees and their peeled and shiv¬ 
ered trunks, and old logs, which, from their appearance, must 
have long been buried beneath the mountain soil. With these 
the meadow which stretches along before the Notch House was 
covered, and so deep, that none of the long grass, nor alders 
that grew there, were to be seen. Moving on from this 
site, w T e came upon the next large slide, which continued till 
it met that of another, which came down below the Notch 
House, and within a rod of it. Thus far it was one continued 
heap of ruins, and, beyond the house, the slides continued 
many rods. The one back of the house started in a direc¬ 
tion, in which it must have torn it away, had it not been 
arrested by a ridge of land extending back of the house to a 
more precipitous part of the mountain. Descending to this 
point, the slide divided, and sought the valleys, which lie at 
the base; one part carrying away in its course the stable 
above the house, and the other passing immediately below it, 
leaving the house itself unimpaired. 

Over this crude and extended mass of ruin we reached the 
house about noon. Many persons had already arrived there 
from both above and below the Notch. Some search had 
already been made for the bodies in that part of the slide,' 
just described, which came down below the house. That not 
availing anything, there was a pause in this direction about 


124 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


the time our party arrived. The slide which we have referred 
to above as dividing back of the house, again united directly 
in front of it, and flowed on in the bed of the Saco, down the 
valley. Following down this slide, the accidental moving of 
a twig disclosed some flies which prey usually upon infected 
animal matter. Search was immediately commenced about 
this spot. This search soon disclosed one of the bodies. Im¬ 
mediately the news came to us, and we were soon crowding 
to the spot. It was no long time before the body first dis¬ 
covered was fully uncovered, and another not far off. These 
were the bodies of my brother’s wife, and one of the hired 
men, David Allen. They were dreadfully mangled, especially 
my brother’s wife. Scarcely a look of her, as seen in life, 
could be perceived about the remains. The body of my 
brother was soon found, near where those of his wife and 
hired man had been discovered. This was injured less than 
those of the two preceding. It could be recognized easily 
in any place by an intimate acquaintance. 

All these bodies, after suitable time to make coffins from 
materials such as could be obtained there, were made ready 
for burial. It was decided to bury them near the house of 
their recent habitation, and let them remain there till they 
could be more conveniently moved to Conway the succeeding 
winter. One common wide grave was dug for them, and they 
were placed in its margin, to remain till the befitting and ac¬ 
customed prayer at burial was performed. That prayer was 
made by a personal friend of my brother, and one who often 
ministered in holy things. The prayer was suited to the 
occasion, coming from a kind, sympathizing, pious heart. It 
was impressive as it came from the good man’s lips; and then 
its impressiveness was greatly increased from the circum¬ 
stances under which it was made. In the echoes that were 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 125 


awakened by his voice, the very mountains around us seemed 
to join with him in describing the majesty of God, and im¬ 
ploring his mercy on our stricken hearts. When, with slow 
and distinct utterance, the minister, at the commencement of 
his prayer, referred to the magnificence of the Deity, as 
described by the Prophet Isaiah, saying, “Who hath meas¬ 
ured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out 
heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth 
in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the 
hills in a balance/’ the echo gave back every word of this 
sublime description in a tone equally clear and solemn with 
that in which they were first uttered. The effect of all this 
was soul-stirring beyond description. I shall never forget 
the tears and sorrows that marked the faces of many that 
stood around that open grave, on that solemn occasion. 
The minister who made that prayer was Elder Samuel 
Hasaltine, then of Bartlett, now living in Bethel. After the 
prayer we buried the bodies, — 

“ And then, one summer evening’s close, 

We left them to their last repose.” 

It was dark before the burial was completed, and we were 
compelled to spend the night in the house so lately left by 
the buried family. 

The next day the most of us left for our homes. Some 
remained to make further search for the bodies yet undis¬ 
covered. In the course of the day, the body of the youngest 
child, about three years old, was found, and buried near those 
of its parents, without any special religious service. Search 
was continued still the succeeding day, and the body of the 
eldest child, a girl of twelve years of age, and the other 
hired man. David Nickerson, were found and buried in the 

11 * 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


126 


same manner. The bodies of the remaining children, two 
sons and a daughter, have never been found. They were 
covered so deep beneath the piles of rubbish, that no search 
has ever come at them. From tho, magnitude of the slide, 
and the amount of matter thrown into the valley, it is more 
remarkable that so many of the bodies were found, than that 
these were not found. 

The destruction was complete; no living creature about 
the premises escaped it, except my brother’s dog, and his two 
oxen. He had two horses, which were crushed beneath the 
falling timbers of the stable. These had been dragged out 
and exposed to view when the party I was in first arrived 
on the fatal spot. The oxen were imperiled by the disaster, 
but escaped without any material injury. One of them was 
crushed to the floor by falling timbers, but not killed. The 
other, standing by his side, being more sturdy, resisted them, 
so that they broke over his back, and, when found, he stood 
upright amid the ruins about him. In this condition, one 
crushed to the floor, and the other standing, they remained 
from Monday night until the next Wednesday morning. 

They were then released by a Mr. Barker, the man who 
first visited the scene of ruins after it transpired. Coming 
down through the Notch, from the north, he reached the spot 
about sunset on Tuesday, and took up his lodgings in the 
vacated house for the night. When the hush of stillness and 
desertion, he first found about this house, became more settled, 
as he lay in his bed trying to compose himself to sleep, being 
weary, lie heard a low moaning, as from some living crea¬ 
ture. Under circumstances to interpret this most darkly, as 
being perhaps the suppressed wail of one of the family still 
living, — and, yet, not able to accomplish anything by rising, 
on account of the deep darkness in the house and about the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


127 


premises, and unable to get any light to reliev eit, — he lay 
terror-stricken and sleepless till the dawn of day. With the 
first ray of light he arose, and, after a little search, found the 
cause of his excitement. It was the crushed ox we have 
referred to, moaning under the pain and uneasiness of his 
situation. He immediately released him from his confinement, 
and soon proceeded on his way down toward Bartlett and 
Conway. This was the man that brought to us the first 
tidings respecting the great disaster. 

So far we have sought to bring out somewhat minutely the 
points in the great destruction of my brother and his family, 
so richly deserving a record and the lasting remembrance of 
all who survive them. Here we might cease, perhaps ; still 
there may be lingering inquiries, with some, demanding atten¬ 
tion. How were the family destroyed ? What were the 
main circumstances pertaining to the great event of their 
destruction ? In what manner did the great slide from the 
mountain, directly back of the house, which was certainly the 
agent of their destruction, come to bear upon them so as to 
produce their deaths ? 

In attempting a reply to these queries there is obviously 
nothing to aid but conjecture. There is no definite knowledge 
within our reach to bring to such a work. 

“ Sire, mother, offspring — all were there ; 

Not one had ’scaped the conqueror’s snare. 

Not one was left to weep alone ; 

The { dwellers of the hill ’ were gone ! 

Say, whither are those dwellers gone ? 

Bii’d of the mountain, thou alone 
Saw by the lightning from on high 
The mountain-torrent rushing by ; 

Beheld, upon its wild wave borne, 


128 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORl. 


The tall pine from the hill-top torn. 

Amid its roar, thine ear alone 

Heard the wild shriek — the dying groan — 

The prayer that struggled to he fiee, 

Breathed forth in life’s last agony ! 

In vain —no angel form was there ; 

The wild wave drowned the sufferers’ prayer , 
As down the rocky glen they sped, 

The mountain-spirits shrieked and fled ! ” 


# 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE SLIDES, CONTINUED. 

THE FAMILY DOG. — THE FIRST CONJECTURE IN REGARD TO MANNER OF DE¬ 
STRUCTION. SECOND CONJECTURE. THIRD CONJECTURE. — THE DREAM. 

WHY ALL WERE DESTROYED.-THE MUTILATION OF THE BODIES.-DAVID 

ALLEN.-THE GREAT RISE OF WATER. — THEIR TERRIBLE SITUATION DURING 

THE STORM.-THE EFFECT OF A STORM UPON A FAMILY IN THE SAME HOUSE 

A YEAR AFTER.-THE STORM. 

They all perished together, and this was rather remarka¬ 
ble. Some one or more of the children, since the moving of 
their parents to the Notch House, had generally been with 
their relatives in Conway. That they should all have been 
at home, then, at the time of the disaster, and all have perished 
together, may be deemed as giving a peculiar aspect to the 
whole matter. Friends might have wished it otherwise, on 
some accounts, and yet, w T e must say, it w T as best as it was. 
No one survived to endure the deep anguish that must have 
come from the destruction of all his nearest kindred. 

We have said if one of the family had survived we might 
have had some information about it. If even the family dog 
could have spoken, he would have told us more about the sad 
event than we now know. He would have described one of 
the most heart-rending scenes ever witnessed. He probably 
accompanied the family, as they commenced their march to 


130 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


death from their dwelling, but escaped by his superior sight 
and agility. We infer this from some contusions on his body 
discoverable when first seen after the disaster. This dog, to 
the best of his power, did try to inform some friends of the 
destroyed family of what had happened. Soon after this 
disaster, and before any news of it had come to Conway, this 
faithful dog came down to Mr. Lovejoy's, and, by moanings 
and other expressions of deep inward anguish around the 
persons of the family, tried to make them understand wdiat 
had taken place ; but, not succeeding, he left, and after being 
seen frequently on the road between the Notch House and 
the residence of the family just referred to, sometimes head¬ 
ing north, and then south, running almost at the top of his 
speed, as though bent on some most absorbing errand, he 
soon disappeared from the region, and has never since been 
seen. He probably perished through grief and loneliness 
combined with exhaustion of body. 

In the absence of any exact information, then, from any 
quarter, respecting the manner of the destruction of the fam¬ 
ily, we are shut up entirely to the force of conjecture, as we 
have said. That most commonly indulged is this : 

The family, at first, designed to keep the house, and did 
actually remain in it till after the descent of most of the 
slides. From the commencement of the storm in its greatest 
fury they were, probably, on the alert, though previously to 
this some of them might have retired to rest. That the 
children had, was pretty evident from appearances in the 
house when first entered after the disaster. My brother, it 
is pretty certain, had not undressed; he stood watching the 
movements and vicissitudes of the awfully anxious season. 
When the storm had increased to such violence as to threaten 
their safety, and descending avalanches seemed to be sound- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


181 


ing “the world’s last knell,” he roused his family and pre¬ 
pared them, as he could, for a speedy flight, trembling every 
moment lest they should be buried under the ruins of their 
falling habitation. 

At this hurried, agitating moment of awful suspense, the 
slide, which parted back of the house, is supposed to have 
come down, a part of which struck and carried away the 
stable. Hearing the crash, they instantly and precipitately 
rushed from their dwelling, and attempted to flee in the op¬ 
posite direction. But the thick darkness covering all objects 
from their sight, they were almost instantly engulfed in the 
desolating torrent which passed below the house, and which 
precipitated them, together with rocks and trees, into the 
swollen and frantic tide below, and cut off at once all hope 
of escape. Amidst the rage and foam of so much water, 
filled, as it was, with so many instruments of death, they 
had no alternative but the doom which was before them. 

Others have supposed that, as the storm increased during 
the night, thinking the stable a safer place than the house, 
being constructed of stronger materials, they went into the 
stable before the destructive slide came down which carried 
them away; and there they met death by the part of it 
which fell, and the mingled current of sand and timber which 
produced the fall, and were borne along on its course to where 
they were afterwards found. This conjecture arose, probably, 
from the fact that the remains of such of the family as were 
discovered were found very near the timbers of that portion 
of the stable which was carried away. 

There is still another conjecture respecting the manner of 
the great disaster, suggested by a dream of my eldest brother, 
James Willey. In his dream he thought he saw the brother 
that was destroyed, and asked him why he and his family 


182 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


left the house, as they did, and thus exposed themselves to 
dangers abroad, when they might have been more safe at 
home. This has often been asked. In reply to this, my 
brother remarked that they did not leave the house until the 
waters rose so high in front, and came up so near, that they 
found they would carry away the house ; so, to avoid being 
drowned, they took some coverings for shelter against the 
storm, and went out to the foot of the mountain back of the 
house, and from thence, soon after, were carried away by 
the great slide that came down in that direction. 

This is an explanation of the manner of the disaster of 
which we might never have conceived but for the dream. 
But, when taken up from this source, it adjusts itself better 
to the great facts in the case than either of the theories we 
have heretofore considered. It explains why a bed was 
found on the ruins near the body of the eldest daughter. 
That bed was needed as a shelter from the storm, in the 
retreat the family made to the base of the mountain. 

% 

The theory of the dream, too, explains why the family were 
all destroyed, and some did not escape. On the supposition of 
th$ first theory, that the family fled precipitately from the 
house when they heard the crash of the stable, and were soon 
engulfed in the part of the great slide that ran below the 
house, it has always seemed strange to me, at least, that such 
as were in the rear of the fleeing party did not pause, or re¬ 
cede, even, when they found those in the advance carried off 
by the moving mass, and, perhaps, giving a sudden outcry 
that there was danger in the way. But, on the supposition 
before us, the family, just previous to the slide, were grouped 
together at the foot of the mountain. In this situation they 
would be an easy prey to the massive slide, coming upon 
them in its force, and be carried away before it in a body. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 138 


So, too, in regard to another point in the history of the 
great event; the great mutilation of all the bodies that were 
found after the disaster. The theory before us explains 
that better than either of those previously named. Under 
the idea that these bodies started from the base of the moun¬ 
tain on their way to death, we can better understand why 
they were so mangled, than if we conceive them just starting 
from the house on such a destiny. In this case, they would 
have a longer course over which to pass, and that course full 
of instruments suited w r ell to disfigure and mar their bodies. 
We refer now particularly to the stable and its falling tim¬ 
bers, as furnishing those instruments. This stood in the path 
the bodies would naturally travel in passing from the base of 
the mountain to the place of their discovery after the disaster. 
It may be clearly seen, then, how the facts in the case sustain, 
so far, the theory of the dream, since, by means of that, we 
can much better conceive why the bodies were so mutilated, 
than why they should be so on the supposition that they 
started from the house, less distant from their deposit in 
death, and that less distance not so pregnant with instruments 
of mutilation. 

In speaking of the disfigured condition of the bodies, we 
may properly refer to that of Allen, the hired man, first 
found. 

This man, in life, was distinguished as one physically pe¬ 
culiar among all his race; earnest-looking, full and muscular 
in body, quick and strong in motion. In death he exhibited 
just the appearance those characteristic features would natu¬ 
rally give him. He was found near the top of a pile of 
mino-led earth and broken timbers, with head rather elevated, 
and hands clenched hard, and full of broken sticks and small 
limbs of trees. 


12 


134 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“ The fragment in "whose clenched hand told 
How firm on life had been his hold.” 

In these hands, and the position of his body, he gave clear 
evidence that before his death he had had a fierce struggle 
with the elements of ruin about him, and that at last he was 
overcome, and perished only in circumstances of peril, where 
no amount of bodily strength or agility could avail him, and 
from which no mortal could escape. 

How long, it might be queried, now, was the conflict which 
this man had with the elements of ruin about him, before he 
finally perished? Was it commensurate with the signal 
marks of energy and firmness in the conflict itself, such as 
were stamped on every part of him in death ? A solution of 
this query is certainly desirable. If, as suggested by the 
first conjecture, his course of contention with the elements of 
death were considered as extending only from the house to 
where he was found, such a course might be deemed too 
short for displaying such fierce encounter with the elements 
as he did, or exhibiting such marks of injury upon his per¬ 
son as were presented at the time he was found. But, if we 
consider his course to be from the base of the mountain to 
the bed of death on which he was found, then he had ample 
space to display all the energies of his strong physical nature. 
Commencing the struggle at the very onset of the slide, bat¬ 
tling with the rocks and trees as they came upon him, trying 
to retain his hold on the ground at the foot of the mountain 
by grasping the small twigs and plants there, and then being 
torn away from them or with them in his hands, and carried 
down to the falling stable, and then again, if still alive, 
grasping its timbers, for relief, but finding some rather heavy 
beatings and bruisings on various parts of his body when he 
passed down to the end of his course he would be thoroughly 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 135 


beaten in the conflict, and exhibit just the marks of violence 
he did on his person. 

There is another thing in this conjecture, accounting for 
the manner of the disaster, that is worthy of observation. 
This makes the rapid and elevated rise of the water about 
the house as the great reason why the family went back to 
the foot of the mountain, and there perished. Aside from 
this theory we might never have thought of such a state o^ 
things; and yet, when once presented, we see that it har¬ 
monizes perfectly with all the great facts in the case. We 
need the disclosure of this, indeed, to explain what has always 
been known in relation to the great disaster. Everything 
above and below the Notch House seems to point to a high 
and rapid rise of water there. In Conway, where I lived, 
twenty-five miles below this house, the water, on the night of 
the disaster, rose twenty-four feet in about seven hours. 
The Saco was forded about nine o’clock on the evening of 
that night, and, by daylight the next morning, its waters, as 
far down in their course as Bartlett and Conway, had risen, 
by exact admeasurement, twenty-four feet, as we have said, 
covering all the intervals, in those towns, on both sides of 
its usual channel. It is reasonable, then, to infer that there 
must have been a high and rapid rise of water at its source 
near the Notch House. And, besides this, all the mountains 
in the region of the Notch and Notch House indicated the pour¬ 
ing out of such torrents of rain from the clouds on their peaks 
and sides, as must have produced a great flood of water in those 
places. Slides on a mountain, produced by a common rain, 
generally begin slightly, at their summits, and increase as 
they go down; but here, from the very summits, the earth 
and rocks were driven down, as if some immense cistern 
had been emptied at once upon them. The great idea in 


136 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


reference to this seems to be, that before, the great storm 
came on in its strength and force, ample preparations had 
been made for it. We have already referred to this fact. 

All the day previous to its commencement at nightfall, 
and even before that, for days, lighter clouds had been col¬ 
lecting ; but all that day, especially, heavy, dark clouds, 
surcharged with water, were seen sailing up from the south, 
in close succession, and resting on the White Mountains. 

With all this resource of clouds thus collected and embod¬ 
ied on such a spot, it was only necessary to compress them, 
and then would come a tempest in its strength. The maga¬ 
zine was ready — touch it, and it would pour out water enough 
to deluge all the region beneath it. This, from observation, 
seemed to be just the effect of the storm through all the great 
ravines from the Notch down below the Notch House. Pass 
down or up through all the length of that great ravine, and, 
under your feet and on either side of you, all that distance, 
you would see the very effect on mountain and plain, such as 
would come if great bodies of water were poured on them at 
once. Excavations in the hard earth were made so deep, 
large rocks were moved so far, stone and wooden bridges were 
so upturned, as to convince you, beyond a doubt, a deluge of 
water, far beyond what was ordinary, had been in their midst. 

The above theories are undoubtedly the only ones that can 
be presented to point out the manner by which the family 
perished. Beyond these we cannot possibly conceive of an¬ 
other by which the great event could transpire ; and which of 
these was the one expressing the real mode of it, we do not 
wish, even, to give our opinion. With the main facts before 
the eye of the reader, such as we have drawn out at some 
length, we had much rather he should decide for himself which 
is most probable. In the absence of certain knowledge, it is 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 137 


most likely that different persons may come to different con¬ 
clusions respecting it. Where there is nothing but conjec¬ 
ture to guide any one in making up an opinion, certainly no 
one will be holden precisely to that of another. Every one 
for himself will make up the judgment he may think the great 
facts in the case shall best warrant. But. after all, the mere 
manner in which the family were destroyed is not the great 
thing. There are things enough known respecting it to give 
it a strong claim on our attention. We know the family 
perished ; and we know the circumstances of their death must 
have been distressing beyond description. Bring them, for 
a moment, before your imagination. The avalanche, which 
only two months before had nearly caused their instanta¬ 
neous death, if it had not induced timidity, must have greatly 
increased their sensibility to danger, and filled them with 
ominous forebodings when this new war of elements began. 
Add to this the horror of thick darkness that surrounded 
their dwelling; the tempest raging with unbridled violence; 
the bursting thunder, peal answering to peal, and echoing 
from mountain to mountain with solemn reverberation; the 
piercing lightning, whose momentary flashes only rendered the 
darkness and their danger the more painfully visible; huge 
masses of the mountain tumbling from their awful height, with 
accumulating and crashing ruins into the abyss below; their 
habitation shaken to its foundation by these concussions of 
nature ; — with all these circumstances of terror conspiring, 
what consternation must have filled the soul! And then, the 
critical instant when the crashing of the stable, by the resist¬ 
less mass, warned them to flee, if we adopt the first theory 
respecting the manner of the disaster; or, if we adopt the last, 
when, amidst the very enginery of death all about them, as 
they went back to the foot of the mountain, every moment 

12 * 


138 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


expecting to perish by lightning, or moving rocks and tim¬ 
bers that swept the face of both mountain and plain like a 
destroying besom; who can enter into their feelings at such 
a crisis of the wildest uproar and confusion? It is im¬ 
possible for any one now living, or any one who lived at the 
time of this destruction, to sympathize at all with the ago¬ 
nies of spirit that filled them to the surfeit. We may task 
our imagination to the highest point possible within our power, 
and we could not do it. We may strain our conception of 
mental horror and impressions of soul that might come upon 
us under the most startling forms of impending death, and, 
after all, we should fail entirely of coming to the dreadful 
reality. We may combine our deepest conceptions of what 
is dreadful in a moment of imminent death, with the most vivid 
descriptions, from books or friends, of what others have felt 
as they stood trembling on the verge of ruin, and still we 
could not comprehend what was felt by the family of my 
brother, when they went out from their dwelling on the terri¬ 
ble night of their destruction, and not only trembled under 
apprehension of death, but met it and realized it under one of 
its severest forms. 

The best conception which any one could have of what 
was suffered by the family, on the eve of their destruction, 
was realized by a family which, for a time, occupied the 
same house from which they perished. 

For the same reason that my brother and his family moved 
into the house, another man, named Pendexter, with his fam¬ 
ily, moved into the same house, more than a year after the 
terrible disaster. His object was mainly to afford entertain¬ 
ment for travellers during the winter; as, during that season, 
it was more needed in that spot than during the other sea¬ 
sons of the year. Some time after his removal, a heavy 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 139 

storm took place. It was not so severe as the one that 
destroyed my brother’s family, but still it was severe enough 
to give one some pretty clear conception of the force of that. 
The same general movements, probably, transpired in the lat¬ 
ter storm, that did in the first, though not so great in degree. 
During the progress of this, there were successive events of 
a most awe-inspiring character. At one time would be seen 
the sharpest lightning followed by the heaviest thunder; 
then would be seen streams, arising from the concussion of 
rocks on the face of the mountain opposite the Notch House, 
ascending from the base to the very summit, lighting all 
the valley about with a brilliant light. At the same time, 
the noise from the concussions would reverberate strong 
enough to drown the heaviest thunder. All the time, too, 
these lights were shining, and the peals of heavy thunder were 
alternating with concussions of rocks on the mountain sides 
such as to make the very earth tremble under your feet, the rain 
was pouring in deafening torrents. These impressive circum¬ 
stances of the storm, together with reflections of what passed 
in the same house months before, so affected the then resident 
family, that not a word was spoken for near half an hour. 
They stood and looked at each other, almost petrified with 
fear. And yet, this storm, as we have intimated, was very 
much inferior in power to the one we have been considering, 
and which brought on the great disaster that has occupied so 
much of our attention. 

In closing this whole account of one of the most terrible 
storms ever transpiring, we cannot do it better, perhaps, than 
in the words of Byron : 


“ The sky is changed ! and such a change ! 0 night, 
And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong ! 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


Far along, 

From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, 

Leaps the live thunder ! Not from one lone cloud, 

But every mountain now hath found a tongue, 

And Jura answers, through her misty shroud. 

Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud. 

Now, where the quick Rhone thus has cleft his way, 

The mightiest of the storms hath ta’en his stand ; 

For here, not one, but many, make their play, 

And fling their thunderbolts from hand to hand, 

Flashing and cast around ; of all the band, 

The brightest through these parted hills hath forked 
His lightnings,— as if he did understand, 

That, in such gaps as desolation worked, 

There the hot shaft should blast whatever therein lurked.” 


CHAPTER X. 


THE SLIDES, CONCLUDED. 

THE STORM AS "WITNESSED BY ONE AT THE MOUNTAINS. -THE VIEW FROM 

BETHLEHEM. -RAPID RISE OF THE AMMONOOSUC.-CONDITION OF CAPTAIN 

ROSEBROOK’S FARM.-SLIDES AS FIRST SEEN. — FALLS OF THE AMMO¬ 
NOOSUC. -DIFFICULTY OF REACHING CRAWFORD’S.-ATTEMPT TO ASCEND 

THE MOUNTAINS. -THE CAMP.-GREAT DESTRUCTION OF TREES. 

Our account of this remarkable storm and its effects 
would be very imperfect were we to omit the following, 
written by a gentleman who was on the spot directly after 
the storm had passed : 

“The rains had been falling nearly three weeks, over the 
southern parts of New England, before they reached the 
neighborhood of the White Mountains. At the close of a 
stormy day the clouds all seemed to come together, as to a 
resting-place, on these lofty summits; and, having retained 
their chief treasure till now, at midnight discharged them 
in one terrible burst of rain, the effects of which were awful 
and disastrous. The storm continued most of the night; but 
the next morning was clear and serene. The view from the 
hill of Bethlehem was extensive and delightful. In the 
eastern horizon Mount Washington, with the neighboring 
peaks on the north and on the south, formed a grand outline 
far up in the blue sky. Two or three small fleecy clouds 


142 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


rested on its side, a little below its summit; while, from 
behind this highest point of land in the United States, east 
of the Mississippi, the sun rolled up rejoicing in his strength 
and glory. We started off towards the object of our journey, 
with spirits greatly exhilarated by the beauty and grandeur 
of our prospect. As we hastened forward with our eyes 
fixed on the tops of the mountains before us, little did we 
think of the scene of destruction around their base, on which 
the sun was now for the first time beginning to shine. In 
about half an hour we entered a wilderness, in which we 
were struck with its universal stillness. From every leaf in 
its immense masses of foliage the rain hung in large glittering 
drops; and the silver note of a single unseen and unknown 
bird was the only sound that we could hear. After we had 
proceeded a mile or two, the roaring of the Ammonoosuc 
began to break upon the stillness, and now grew so loud as 
to excite our surprise. In consequence of coming to-the 
river almost at right angles, and by a very narrow road, 
through trees and bushes very thick, we had no view of the 
water, till with a quick trot we had advanced upon the bridge 
too fixr to retreat, when the sight that opened at once to the 
right hand and to the left drew from all of us similar excla¬ 
mations of astonishment and terror; and we hurried over 
the trembling fabric as fast as possible. After finding our¬ 
selves safe on the other side, we walked down to the brink ; 
and, though familiar with mountain scenery, we all confessed 
we had never seen a mountain torrent before. The water 
was as thick with earth as it could be without bein£ chano-ed 
into mud. A man living near in a log hut showed us how 
high it was at daybreak. Though it had fallen six feet, he 
assured us it was ten feet above its ordinary level. To this 
add its ordinary depth of three or four feet, and here at day- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTOKY. 143 


break was a body of water, twenty feet deep and sixty feet 
wide, moving with the rapidity of a gale of wind between 
steep banks covered with hemlocks and pines, and over a bed 
of large rocks, breaking its surface into billows like those of 
the ocean. After gazing a few moments on this sublime 
sight, we proceeded on our way, for the most part at some 
distance from the river, till we came to the farm of Rose- 
brook, lying on its banks. We found his fields covered with 
water, and sand, and flood-wood. His fences and bridges 
were all swept away, and the road was so blocked up with 
logs that we had to wait for the labor of men and oxen 
before we could get to his house. Here we were told that 
the river was never before known to bring down any con¬ 
siderable quantity of earth; and were pointed to bare spots, 
on the sides of the White Mountains, never seen till that 
morning. As our road, for the remaining six miles, lay 
quite near the river, and crossed many small tributary 
streams, we employed a man to accompany us with an axe 
We were frequently obliged to remove trees from the road, 
to fill excavations, to mend and make bridges, or contrive to 
get our horses and wagon along separately. After toiling in 
this manner half a day, we reached the end of our journey; 
not, however, without being obliged to leave our wagon half 
a mile behind. In many places, in those six miles, the road 
and the whole adjacent woods, as it appeared from the marks 
on the trees, had been overflowed to the depth of ten feet. 
In one place, the river, in consequence of some obstruction 
at a remarkable fall, had been twenty feet higher than it was 
when we passed. We stopped to view the fall, which Dr. 
Dwight calls ‘beautiful.’ He says of it, ‘ The descent is from 
fifty to sixty feet, cut through a mass of stratified granite; 
the sides of which appear as if they had been laid by a mason 


144 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


in a variety of fantastical forms; betraying, however, by 
their rude and wild aspect, the masterly hand of nature.’ 
This description is sufficiently correct; but the beauty of the 
fall was now lost in its sublimity. You have only to imagine 
the whole body of the Ammonoosuc, as it appeared at the 
bridge which we crossed, now compressed to half of its width, 
and sent downward, at an angle of twenty or twenty-five 
degrees, between perpendicular walls of stone. On our arrival 
at Crawford’s, the appearance of his farm was like that of 
Rosebrook's, only much worse. Some of his sheep and 
cattle were lost, and eight hundred bushels of oats were de¬ 
stroyed. Here we found five gentlemen, who gave us an 
interesting account of their unsuccessful attempt to ascend 
Mount Washington the preceding day. They went to the 
1 Camp ’ at the foot of the mountain on Sabbath evening, and 
lodged there with the intention of climbing the summit the 
next morning. But in the morning the mountains were en¬ 
veloped in thick clouds; the rain began to fall, and increased 
till afternoon, when it came down in torrents. At five 
o’clock they proposed to spend another night at the camp, 
and let their guide return home for a fresh supply of pro¬ 
visions for the next day. But the impossibility of keeping 
a fire where everything was so wet, and, at length, the advice 
of their guide, made them all conclude to return, though with 
great reluctance. No time was now to be lost, for they 
had several miles to travel on foot, and six of them by a 
rugged path through a gloomy forest. They ran as fast as 
their circumstances would permit; but the dark evergreens 
around them, and the black clouds above, made it night before 
they had gone half of the way. The rain poured down 
faster every moment; and the little streams, which they had 
stepped across the evening before, must now be crossed by 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 145 


wading, or by cutting down trees for bridges, to which they 
were obliged to cling for life. In this way they reached the 
bridge over the Ammonoosuc, near Crawford’s, just in time 
to pass it before it was carried down the current. On Wednes- 
day, the weather being clear and beautiful, and the waters 
having subsided, six gentlemen, with a guide, went to Mount 
Washington, and one accompanied Mr. Crawford to the 
‘Notch,’ from which nothing had yet been heard. We met 
again at evening, and related to each other what w r e had 
seen. The party w T ho went to the mountain were five hours 
in reaching the site of the camp, instead of three, the usual 
time. The path for nearly one third of the distance w T as so 
much excavated, or covered with miry sand, or blocked up 
with flood-w T ood, that they v T ere obliged to grope their way 
through thickets almost impenetrable, where one generation 
of trees after another had risen and fallen, and were now 
lying across each other in every direction, and in various 
stages of decay. The camp itself had been wholly swept 
away; and the bed of the rivulet by which it had stood was 
now more than ten rods wide, and with banks from ten to 
fifteen feet high. Four or five other brooks were passed, 
whose beds were enlarged, some of them to twice the extent 
of this. In several the water was now only three or four 
feet w T ide, while the bed, of ten, fifteen, or twenty rods in 
width, was covered for miles with stones, from two to five feet 
in diameter, that had been rolled down the mountain and 
through the forests by thousands, bearing everything before 
them. Not a tree, nor the root of a tree, remained in their 
path. Immense piles of hemlocks and other trees, with their 
limbs and bark entirely bruised off, were lodged all the way 
on both sides, as they had been driven in among the standing 
and half-standing trees on the banks. While the party were 

13 


146 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

• 

climbing the mountain, thirty ‘ slides’ were counted, some 
of which began where the soil and vegetation terminate ; am , 
growing wider as they descended, were estimated to contain 
more than a hundred acres. These were all on the western 
side of the mountains. They were composed of the whole 
surface of the earth, with all its growth of woods, and its 
loose rocks, to the depth of fifteen, twenty, and thirty feet, 
and wherever the slides of the projecting mountains met, 
and formed a vast ravine, the depth was still greater. 


I 


CHAPTER XI. 

BARTLETT. 

GENERAL FEATURES.-ROCKY BRANCH.-INCIDENT ON ITS BANK.-INCI¬ 
DENTS OF ELLIS’ RIVER.-FIRST SETTLEMENT. -LOSS OF THE HORSES. - 

SNOW CAVERNS.-BROTHERS EMERY.-HUMPHREY’S OBSTINACY.-THEIR 

PERILOUS ESCAPE FROM FREEZING.— HON. JOHN PENDEXTER. — HIS REMOVAL 

FROM PORTSMOUTH.-CHILDREN.-“ RAISING ” SCENE. —MRS. PENDEXTER. 

-THE GREAT DISTANCE OF A MARKET.-DIFFICULTY OF REACHING MARKET. 

-TRAPS FOR CATCHING WILD ANIMALS. —THE COMMON LOG TRAP.- 

FIGURE FOUR.-PEQUAWKET MOUNTAIN. -ADVENTURE WITH A RATTLE¬ 
SNAKE. -THE “ CHAPEL OF THE HILLS.” — MRS. SNOW.-ITS DEDICATION. 


“ Go, call thy sons ; instruct them what a debt 
They owe their ancestors ; and make them swear 
To pay it, by transmitting down entire 
Those sacred rights to which themselves were born.” 

Bartlett is a small, irregular-shaped town, lying near the 
White Mountains, having Jackson on the north and Conway 
on the south. Saco river runs through it, in a circling 
course, making almost a semicircle within its limits. On both 
sides of this river, through all its course in the town, is good 
land, to some extent from its banks ; and that is about all the 
good land the town affords. You soon come to the mountains, 
after you leave this stretch of land, which generally corre¬ 
spond with the course of the river in the direction of their « 



148 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


ranges. None of these mountains are so large as to claim 
any particular notice. 

Rocky Branch, a stream tributary to the Saco, empties 
into it near the centre of the town. It runs with a rapid 
current, most of the way from its starting, over a rocky bed, 
as its name indicates, till it mingles with its confluent stream. 
It rises very rapidly in times of great rains, as do most 
other streams in the region. At the time of the great disas¬ 
ter near the Notch, when my brother’s family were destroyed, 
it was the scene of a most thrilling incident. 

Previous to this time, near down to where it flows into the 
Saco, on a spot of level, smooth land, familiarly called Jericho, 
a man by the name of Emery had built a small log cabin, and 
moved his family into it. In the night, the same on which 
the great disaster occurred on the Saco, this stream, in the 
vehemence of its rapid, high-swollen current, brought down 
so many trees, and rocks, and logs, from the land along its 
banks, that it formed a sort of dam just below the spot on 
which the cabin stood. This made a pond of water, which 
started the cabin from its foundation, and buoyed it up on its 
surface like a boat. Here the family were, in the depth of a 
dark stormy night, with the water roaring in their ears, at the 
mercy of an angry flood. Their feelings in this situation can 
much better be imagined than expressed. They did the best 
they could, went into the highest part of the cabin, and there 
awaited the fearful issue. They expected every instant to be 
engulfed in the waters. Eor long hours, with little to be 
seen, but almost everything dreadful to be heard, they held 
death steadily before them. Their prospect of escape, under 
the circumstances, was the frailest imaginable. But they 
survived the peril. The waters at last subsided, their little 
ark rested on a miniature Ararat, and the family escaped to 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 149 


the mountains. For deep tragic interest this holds a place 
next in order to the great Notch disaster itself. 

A little to the east of Rocky Branch river is another, called 
Ellis river, running about in the same direction from the 
White Mountains and emptying likewise into the Saco. This, 
in its general character, is very much like the preceding, 
rapid in its current, and very much affected in its rising by 
heavy rains. On the same night in which the incident oc¬ 
curred we have just recited, another took place on this river, 
showing the sudden and high rise of water on all the streams 
among the mountains at that time. Near its course up in 
Jackson, through which it flows on its way to Bartlett from 
its origin in the mountains, a man had a yard, into which he 
had collected some colts, to keep through the night. Daring 
that night, the river, rising near the yard, rose so high, that, 
flowing over its banks, it swept all the colts out of it, and 
carried some of them a longer distance down its current, and 
some a shorter one. They were all destroyed, however; some 
of their bodies, mangled by the rocks and roots lying along 
in the rough bed of the stream, "went down as far as Bartlett, 
a distance of miles. 

Bartlett was originally granted to William Stark, Yere 
Royce, and others, in consideration of services rendered by 
them during the French and Indian war in Canada. Capt. 
Stark immediately divided up his grant into lots, offering 
large tracts to any one w r ho w’ould settle on them. Two 
brothers Emery, and one Harriman, were among the first 
who located themselves permanently in the town. Settle¬ 
ments had been commenced at this time in most of the towns 
surrounding the mountains. In 1777, but a few years suc¬ 
ceeding the Emerys, Daniel Fox, Paul Jilly and Capt. 
Samuel Willey, from Lee, made a settlement in Upper Bart- 

13 * 


150 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


lett, north of those already located. They commenced their 
settlement with misfortunes as well as hardships. Their horses, 
which they had brought with them, dissatisfied with the rich 
grazing land on the Saco, started for their former home in 
Lee. As it afterwards appeared, instead of following the 
Saco in all its turnings and windings, as the settlers did, the 
horses struck directly across the mountains to the south. On 
the first mountain they separated, some going further to the 
east and others to the west. This was all learned long after 
the loss. Diligent search was made at the time, but to no 
purpose. In the spring following tlio disappearance of the 
horses, some dogs brought into the settlement the legs and 
other parts of a horse. Suspecting that they might be parts 
of those they had lost, they followed the track of the dogs, and 
only about sixty rods from the settlement came upon the 
carcass of one. The horse had evidently been dead but a 
few weeks. He had sustained himself, it appeared, during 
the winter on browse, being protected from the cold by those 
immense snow-caverns which are frequently formed on the 
mountains. The snow had formed an entire roof over the 
tops of the thickly-matted trees, leaving the space beneath 
completely free and hollow. In one of these snow-houses the 
horse had lived all the winter. Flocks of sheep have been 
known to be protected so from the cold, coming out healthy 
and in good condition in the spring. 

Most amusing stories are told of these brothers Emery. 
Enoch and Humphrey were their names, the mention of 
which, to this day, will provoke a smile. In their general 
characteristics they differed almost as much as it is possible 
for two individuals to differ. Enoch was frank, open, gen¬ 
erous and manly in his nature, while Humphrey was sullen, 
obstinate and contrary. Humphrey had been haying. He 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 151 


was returning at the close of the day to his house with a 
large load, which he was drawing with a small yoke of oxen. 
On his way was a sharp, steep hill, which he was much afraid 
his oxen would be unable to surmount with the load. He 
was much worried, and it was with considerable anxiety that 
he reached the foot of the hill. Here he accidentally was 
met by one of his neighbors. He had not time to tell him 
his fears before his neighbor had already said, “ Mr. Emery, 
your cattle will hardly be able to haul that load up this hill, 
will they?” This instantly roused Humphrey’s opposition. 
Always differing, he could do no less than differ now. Not 
raising his head, he replied, in his sullen, dogged tone, “ They 
shall do it; ” and, plunging the brad into his poor oxen, made 
good his word. 

Though differing so much from each other in their disposi¬ 
tions, these brothers were uniformly kind and attached to each 
other. They accommodated themselves to their several pecu¬ 
liarities, agreeing in all things to agree and disagree. The 
expedients of Enoch to manage Humphrey were many and 
ingenious. 

In the depth of winter, once, both these brothers, living 
near each other, went into the v r oods to get out some timber. 
The cold w T as very intense, and, before they could get fairly 
to work, so as to warm themselves, Humphrey became very 
much chilled. Enoch felt the cold, but not so severely. He 
realized, however, that he needed a fire, and perceived that 
Humphrey needed it more than himself. The first thing for 
them, therefore, was a fire. Having fire-works with him, and 
being most active at the time, Enoch set himself to kindle 
one. But his fire-works did not work well. He failed to get 
from them, as soon as he expected, what he sought; and see¬ 
ing Humphrey sinking under the cold, and fearing to con- 


152 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


sume any more time in trials upon them, lest Humphrey 
should perish before he succeeded, he resolved on some other 
expedient to warm him. He made appliance to his temper, 
which he knew to be generally quick and irritable. But this 
failed for some time, owing to Humphrey’s being so benumbed 
with the cold. At length, however, he succeeded. He Avas 
roused. Then all that concerned Enoch was to keep out of 
his way. They ran over bushes and stumps and logs till they 
both dripped with perspiration. 

Hon. John Pendexter came into this town, from Ports¬ 
mouth, at an early period of its history, and planted himself 
down on the southern part of it bordering Conway. Here he 
spent the rest of his life, living to the advanced age of eighty- 
three years. 

He, together with his wife, made their way to this spot 
through many hardships, and endured many after they ar¬ 
rived at it. They came a distance of eighty miles in winter, 
she riding on an old, feeble horse, with a feather-bed under 
her, a child in her arms, and he by her side, hauling his 
household furniture on a hand-sled. Nor was it a well-pre¬ 
pared home to which they came in this way,— a warm, neat 
house and cultivated lands,— but a forest mainly, and a rude 
cabin. These were all they had to cheer them on the way, 
besides some warm hearts already living near the place of 
their destination: such as they knew would greet their coming. 
And these were enough. Cheered on by them, at length 
they attained the end of their course, husband and father, 
wife and child. And here it may be remarked, that this 
child was cradled in a sap-trough, and ultimately became the 
mother to a class of sons and a daughter, all of whom do 
honor to their parentage ; but one, especially, is a man very 
distinguished for talent and enterprise. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 153 


Under the labor of these hardy pioneers, the wilderness 
around them soon gave place to fruitful fields; and the rude 
cabin was exchanged for a nice, well-proportioned dwelling- 
house. 

Mr. Pendexter was a plain, earnest man, and for years 
was especially useful, in the region where he lived, as a car¬ 
penter. We have often seen him, with crews of men around 
him, in different places, engaged in preparing frames for the 
rearing; he, with dividers and rule in hand, marking the 
work for them, and they executing it with mallet and chisel 
and auger. 

We have seen him often, too, when this preparatory work 
was done, and the frame was ready for raising, acting as 
master in the enterprise. There he stood, in his cherished 
element of life. “ Men,” said he, at the proper time, “ are 
you ready, all ready?” “Yes,” the response would be, 
“all ready.” “ Well, then, take her up, take her up, I 
say — bravely, bravely ! There she goes, there she goes ! 
Now man those spy-shoves well! Stand to your pick-poles 
firm ! There she goes ! there she goes ! It’s well done ! well 
done ! Look out for the feet of those posts there — see that 
they are entered in their places. There she goes again! 
Steady, now, steady, boys — steady ! She is most up. Don’t 
throw her over ! Steady, boys, steady ! steady ! steady ! 
there she is. All done. Now fasten her there, and make 
her sure.” 

Mrs. Pendexter, as we have seen, was the worthy help¬ 
meet of such a man as he, braving the hardships of an emi¬ 
grating life, and doing all in her power to make the home of 
his selection a retreat of quietude and plenty. She lived to 
a very advanced age — ninety-two years. Having known her 
well in our youth, but not having seen her for some twenty 
years or more, we made a friendly call upon her at a certain 


154 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


time. She was then near her end, as it proved, confined to 
her bed. As we approached her, in company with her 
youngest son, who stood at my side, he, perceiving that she 
did not know me, as he suspected from the beginning she 
would not, said: “ This is Mr. Willey, mother, who has come 
to see you.” “ Mr. Willey ! ” she replied, “ I don’t know 
who that is.” “It is Mr. Willey,” said he again, “the 
minister. Don’t you know him ? ” “ Why, no,” she re¬ 

plied once more, leisurely, “ I don't know him,” keeping her 
eye on me all the while. “You know his father well,” said 
he again, “ Esq. Samuel Willey. This is his son, that is a 
minister.” Still she didn’t know me, she said. Then, tak¬ 
ing the right conception, he said: “Mother, this is Ben 
Willey, come to see you. You knew him once, when he and 
his sister Hannah used to come and play with Patty and me. 
This broke the spell. Inclining her head to me, and pressing 
my hand still in hers, where it had been from the beginning 
of the interview, she said, with an expression of face we shall 
never forget: “ 0, yes, now I know him ! How glad I am to 
see you once more ! ” Her age, for a moment, seemed to be 
renewed. That appellation, “Ben Willey,” by which we 
were often spoken of familiarly in our youth, was a ray of 
light, playing with thrilling effect across her mind, and 
carrying it along back, over the scenes of her long, eventful 
existence, to earlier times. 

Dover was the nearest market at this time; and thither the 
settlers were obliged to go for all provisions and necessaries 
not raised on their farms. In winter the journey was more 
easily accomplished than in summer. With snow-shoes and 
a hand-sled it was not esteemed a very hard task. In sum¬ 
mer, however, it was exceedingly difficult and tiresome. 
Rude boats were usually dug out from trees, large enough to 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 155 


hold several hundred weight, and then substituted, at this 
season of the year, for sleds. The many falls and rapids of 
the Saco made this anything but easy. The heavy boat, 
heavily ladened, had to be carried around each rapid and 
fall; and, in the stillest water, managed with much skill, to 
keep from the many rocks and snags. 

Frequently, during their absence, the river would rise to 
such a height as to be entirely impassable for days. The poor 
wives and children were once obliged to live on seven pota¬ 
toes a day, for many days, until the river fell, and their hus¬ 
bands could cross. 

Most of the living of the early settlers was the game which 
they captured. Deers and bears, and other smaller animals, 
were almost as common in those times as squirrels now. But 
little powder was used, it being too costly, and difficultly 
obtained. Traps and snares, of many devices and shapes, were 
used in its stead. A description of some of the more common 
may not be uninteresting, as illustrating the ingenuity of our 
fathers. Large steel traps were used by those who could 
afford them; but a majority of the settlers were too poor. 
The most common was a trap constructed of logs, on the prin¬ 
ciple of the common box-trap for catching mice and squirrels. 
A small log-house is first constructed, complete, with the 
exception of one end. A log door is then fashioned exactly 
to this end, and made to play up and down in grooves cut in 
the logs. Through the opposite end to the door is placed a 
long pole, having the bait on its inner end, and holding by 
its outer end the long pole which runs over the house, and 
raises the door. All baited, it is left for its prey. The hun¬ 
gry bear, suspecting evil, advances and retreats many times 
ere he ventures to enter. At length, after due amount of 
smelling and growling, his appetite overcomes his prudence: 


156 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

and cautiously, at first very cautiously, lie puts his head 
inside the door. He is not perfectly certain, yet, that there 
is no danger, and would like to get the bait without exposing 
more of his body ; but he cannot do it; and, after reaching 
and stretching till out of patience, he determines to substitute 
speed for caution, and dashes at the bait with all his might. 
The fierceness with which he seizes the meat shakes the two 
poles from their fastenings; and down comes the door, leav¬ 
ing old bruin to lament his folly. 

Another contrivance is to build a house in the same man¬ 
ner as the preceding, with like walls and covering. But, 
instead of such a door as there used, take timbers so small 
that they will bend, especially at one end; or, if large 
timbers are deemed best, hew them down so that they will 
yield to pressure at one end; place these in the ends of the 
house, in such a way that the elastic ends will approach each 
other somewhat, giving them, when all put up, a tunnel 
shape; the end of those outside farthest apart, and those 
within the house nearer together. Thus constructed, with 
bait put far into the house, the bear will press into the tun¬ 
nel, the elastic ends of it yielding to the pressure of his bod}?-, 
and obtain the bait and the inside of the house. But now 
he has gone too far to retreat; the elastic ends of the timbers 
coming to their natural position, after the pressure of his 
body is taken from them, he is forbidden to return. 

Another mode still for catching him was by means of a 
trap called the figure four. Put together large timbers, by 
passing over them other smaller transverse timbers, and 
fasten them together so as to make a large door, heavy enough 
to crush a bear. Put under the door, one side of it, a piece 
of timber answering to the diagonal in the Arabic figure four. 
Then add another, adjusted to this diagonal by a groove, and 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 157 


an edge on one of them, that answers to the horizontal part 
of such figure ; then another, adjusted to both the diagonal 
and horizontal timbers, by a groove, an edge, and what are 
called gains, answering to the perpendicular line in such fig¬ 
ure. Now put all these together, and you have a prop for 
the door we have named. When the door is placed on such 
a prop for use, put on the end of the horizontal timber that 
goes under the door the bait for the bear. Thus arranged, 
when the bear shall take hold of the bait to eat it, he must 
stand under the door, and, in devouring the bait, he must 
necessarily disarrange the figure, and bring the covering 
over him down upon his back. 

In the south-east of this town, lying partly within its 
bounds and partly in Chatham, rises up one of those huge 
mountain piles, standing upon the outskirts of the White 
Mountains, and guarding, as it were, the approach to the 
central cluster. Pequawket Mountain is a wonder of itself; 
and, separated from all its companions, is worthy of a jour¬ 
ney of many hundred miles. It rises up, in the form of a 
pyramid, or perhaps more cone-like, over three thousand 
feet, its southern sides, from base to summit, all visible to 
the beholder. The many surrounding mountains stand out 
from it on its lower sides, leaving it an isolated cone, tower¬ 
ing up in all its majesty, and revealing its huge bulk in all 
its gigantic proportions. From the south it is seen nearly as 
soon as Mount Washington, and the view from its summit is 
quite as extensive, and much more satisfactory. A large 
hotel is built upon its highest point, and the cupola, covered 
with tin, is distinctly seen a distance of thirty or forty mile3, 
glistening in the rays of the sun. 

Game was very plenty in former days around the base of 
this mountain, and even to this day can be found here if 

14 


158 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


anywhere. If one lias the courage to explore the almost im¬ 
penetrable swamps around its base, he cannot fail to find fine 
shooting and fishing. The many little hidden ponds are the 
favorite resort of multitudes of wild fowl in their season, and 
every secluded brook is overflowing with trout. Bears are 
occasionally seen upon its sides, or in its ravines and valleys, 
but are very timid and shy. 

Berries are very plenty, of all kinds, upon its sides, and, 
in their season, it is the resort of the inhabitants for many 
miles around. A most exciting scene occurred once, to our 
own knowledge, during one of these berrying excursions. 
It was in the season of blueberries, and a large party had 
gone out, and among them a young lady, a member of 
my own family. The party had wandered far up on the 
mountain, where the growth was scantier and smaller. In 
the crevices amidst the rocks, and in the little, secluded 
nooks, lying under the vast piles of rocks and earth, the ber¬ 
ries were very large and thick. The party had become much 
scattered, each selecting his own place of picking, and 
designing to come together again at a spring further down 
on the mountain. The young lady I have before mentioned 
had wandered away entirely alone. On one of those big 
moss plats so common, under the lee of an overhanging cliff, 
she found the berries uncommonly thick and large, and, sus¬ 
pecting no danger, sat down, and, in her eagerness to gather 
the whole, commenced a most rapid picking. How long she 
thus remained she does not remember; but, suddenly feel¬ 
ing something move in her apron, she looked, and in 
her lap was coiled up a monster rattlesnake ! The spiral 
form was already assumed, and, with head erect, almost at 
her very throat, he already was vibrating his huge body, and 
commencing his fatal rattle. Springing, with a piercing shriek, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 159 


as she perceived her danger, she threw him many feet from 
her, and fell, unconscious, to the ground. The cry brought 
others immediately to her assistance, and, more dead than 
alive, she was led from the spot which had been so near 
witnessing her death. 

In Upper Bartlett, near the old “ Hall Stand,” so well 
known to travellers, stands a neat little building, known as 
the “ Chapel of the Hills.” Its conception and erection has 
in it much of interest. A party of Boston people, tired of 
the dust and heat of the city, sought relief up among the 
mountains of New Hampshire. While stopping at the “Old 
Crawford House,” daily becoming more and more impressed 
with the wonderful works of God around them, and feeling 
their hearts drawn out more, each day, in adoration to so 
great a Being, suddenly the thought occurred to them, What 
is the religious condition of these people around whose habi¬ 
tations God has so displayed his power and might? On in¬ 
quiring. they learned that much might yet be done to advance 
their religious interests. An article was prepared by one 
of the party, on the subject, for the Christian Witness, of 
Boston, which met the eye of Mrs. Snow, a warm friend of the 
American Sabbath School Union, and, as special attention had 
been called to the children of the mountains, she offered two 
hundred dollars to aid in building a Sabbath School Chapel at 
some eligible point high up the valley of the Saco. 

Bev. Mr. Souther, an agent of the Union, and an earnest and 
efficient laborer in the cause of Sabbath Schools, immediately 
made known the offer to the people of Upper Bartlett, and 
urged upon them the importance of its acceptance and their 
active cooperation. He labored with much zeal to stimulate 
them to raise the amount necessary to build such a building, 
and soon saw his labors blessed in the erection of a neat house 


160 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


of worship, every way adapted to their wants, and which, in 
its style, finish and appointments, is exceedingly creditable 
to their public spirit. 

Mrs. Snow died two or three months before the chapel 
was completed. Her last act was to direct the payment of 
fifty dollars, completing her appropriation; thereby showing 
how much her heart was enlisted in the matter. “ But, 
though dead, she yet speaketh.” Eloquently she is yet 
speaking to those who visit these hills not to forget the 
spiritual wants of the dwellers among these mountains. Elo¬ 
quently she is yet pleading with those inhabitants themselves 
to prize highly the privilege which they already enjoy, 
and to be ever ready for that glorious voice: 

“ Sink clown, ye mountains ; and ye valleys, rise! 

With heads declined, ye cedars, homage pay! 

Be smooth, ye rocks ; ye rapid floods, give way! 

The Saviour comes ! 5 ’ 

And to the one who may minister within the walls of this 
little chapel she appeals most earnestly: 

“ To the young, in season vernal, 

Jesus in his grace disclose ; 

As the tree of life eternal, 

’Neath whose shade they may repose, 

Shielded from the noontide ray, 

And from evening’s tribes of prey ; 

And refreshed with fruit of love, 

And with music from above.” 

> 

The account of the dedication of this chapel we give in 
Mr. Souther’s own words : 

“ The dedication took place Jan. 21, 1854. Some ten 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 161 


days previous, a missive reached me, so remarkable for its 
brevity and explicitness, that I transcribe it: 


‘Bartlett, Jan. 7, 1854. 


* To the Rev. Sam. Souther : 

‘ Our house is done, and we are going to dedicate it two weeks from 
this* day, and we want you to attend, without fail. 

‘ Yours, truly, 

‘Spenser Kenison.’ 


1 ‘ The twentieth was stormy. Leaving home in the midst of 
the whirling snow, it seemed exceedingly doubtful whether I 
should be able, the next day, to make my way up our snowy 
valley in season for the dedication services. The ministers 
expected to lead in the exercises failed; and when I reached 
the house, at about eleven, a crowded congregation was 
anxiously awaiting what turn affairs would take. Though 
taken thus unawares, I could not hesitate, when pressed into 
the novel service of preaching the dedication sermon. 
Ps. 122 : 1 — ‘I was glad when they said unto me, let us go 
into the house of the Lord’ —furnished an appropriate expres¬ 
sion of my feelings, in being called to aid in setting apart 
this humble edifice to the worship of God, and it was a joyful 
occasion. 

“There, at the foot of the dark gorge from which the Indian 
recoiled in terror as the abode of the Great Spirit, we had 
met to seek the presence of the God we worshipped, and to 
ask him to make His dwelling-place with us in the house we 
had built. 

“ Among these frowning heights around and above us, He 
had often manifested himself in the tempest and the fire. 
We asked that in the house we now consecrated to the min¬ 
istrations of the word, He would come often by the still, 

14 * 


162 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

small voice, that convinces of sin, and leadeth to repentance 
and faith in Jesus. 

“The fact was not forgotten that the chapel owed its exist¬ 
ence to the affectionate interest of a pious heart, in the religious 
instruction of children, and we left it in charge of the dwell¬ 
ers among the mountains, as the gathering point, on God’s 
holy day, not only for themselves, but their children and 
their children's children through successive generations.” 


CHAPTER XII. 

JACKSON. 

THE VALLEYS OF THE MOUNTAINS. -THE DIRECTIONS IN WHICH THEY RUN. 

-MOOSE POND.-MOOSE BATHING. -MOOSE.-THE CONWAY HUNTER. 

-THE LEAP OF A MOOSE OVER A HORSE AND SLEIGH.-EAGLE LEDGE. 

-MINERAL RESOURCES.-GENERAL FEATURES OF JACKSON.-BENJAMIN 

COPP. -IIIS ENDURANCE. —MR. PINKIIAM’S ACCOUNT OF HIS FIRST EN¬ 
TRANCE INTO JACKSON. — THE HOG.-THE HOUSE.—SCARCITY OF SALT. 

-INCIDENT OF CAPTAIN VERE ROYCE. - TORNADO. — EXPEDIENT TO 

SAVE CHILDREN. -BEAR STORY. -FREEWILL BAPTIST SOCIETY.-ELDER 

DANIEL ELKINS. 


“ Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade ; 

* * * * 

But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride, 

When once destroyed, can never be supplied.” 

Like streets in some vast city, the high walls on either 
hand so completely overshadowing them that the sun but 
peeps into them in his course, and is gone; so the valleys run 
round among the many spurs and ranges of these mountains, 
into the vast depths of many of which he penetrates not 
deep enough to melt away the winter’s snow. Most of the 
snow in the lowest ravines, it is said, is carried away by the 
little streams which run through them. These thaw out in 



164 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


the sunshine further up on the mountains, and, swollen to 
twice their original size, by the melting of the snow in the 
spring, go rushing and foaming through the drifts in the 
ravines. Long, dark caverns are thus formed in many of the 
valleys, one of which we have described in a previous 
chapter. 

Bartlett is the plaza, or central square, of this city of 
mountains. Leading into it from the south is the Saco 
valley, the Broadway of the mountains. Before reaching 
the bend of the Saco, where it turns so gracefully to the left, 
the little valley of the east branch of the Saco runs off to 
the right, separating Dundy and Pequawket Mountains, 
and itself dividing, one branch separating Tin Mountain from 
Double Head, and the other holding in its bosom one of 
those beautiful little sheets of water, so common in this region, 
called Mountain Pond. Into three great sheets this Broad¬ 
way loses itself in the central plaza. The Ellis river valley 
runs off to the north, itself sending off another valley at 
Jackson, a second square in the city, the Wildcat Brook 
valley. Rocky Branch, starting from the same point, but 
running further to the south and west of Ellis river, separates 
Iron Mountain from Mount Crawford and Giant’s Stairs, 
and ends, at the very foot of the highest peaks, in what is 
called Oakes’ Gulf. The Saco valley continues on from its 
turning point in Bartlett at right angles with its former 
course for many miles, when suddenly it turns again short 
round to the north, separating the whole vast cluster. 

Jackson, as we have said, is a second plaza, or square, in 
this city of hills. Near a mile above a little settlement in 
this town, known familiarly as u Jackson City,” is a little 
pond, quite half a mile in length, and about as broad as it 
is long, where moose formerly resorted in great numbers. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 165 


Paths led to it from all the great valleys and little glades; 
and each morning the huge monsters might be seen stalking 
thither to perform their daily ablutions. In winter, as in 
summer, they came each morning to bathe, and, breaking the 
thick ice with their feet, plunged fearlessly into the cold 
water. 

Hunters took advantage of their habit of resorting daily to 
such places, and would there collect in great numbers to hunt 
them. Like most huge monsters, they are not quick-tem¬ 
pered, and, until sorely provoked, are very mild and peaceable. 
They shun contests with man and the lesser animals of the 
forest, and are non-resistants as far as it is prudent to be. 
But, once provoked, there is nothing equal to their ire. Woe 
betide the unfortunate hunter who wounds without killing 
them. With terrible wrath they turn upon him. They run 
him down, and, with their monster hoofs, administer such 
ponderous blows, that scarcely an atom of the poor fellow is 
left. An early settler in Conway once barely escaped from 
the hot pursuit of one by climbing into the topmost boughs 
of a tall tree. After every means to bring him down was ex¬ 
hausted which the moose could devise, he took his stand at 
the foot of the tree, and through the whole of a winter’s 
night kept the poor man shivering in its top. The speed and 
agility of these animals are almost incredible. Over 
Sawyer's Rock one sprang at a leap, and bounded away on 
the other side. One, passing up the valley above the 
11 Crawford House,” during the deep snows of winter, chanced 
to meet a horse and sleigh, containing a man and his wife. 
One must turn out. Very kindly the moose, perceiving how 
difficult it would be for the man to do it, and not wishing to 
do it himself, jumped over the whole concern, horse, sleigh, 
man and woman. 


166 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


Not far from this little pond is a high, craggy ledge, far up 
whose inaccessible side, on a shelf of the rock, an eagle for 
many years built her nest, and reared her young. The fierce 
mother became a terror to the region, and many a bold heart 
has quailed at her scream. Her nest, consisting of sticks and 
twigs woven strongly together with rushes, measured more 
than two yards square. No hunter dared attack her alone. 

Jackson is rich in mineral resources. Iron ore exists in 
inexhaustible quantities on Bald-face Mountain, between the 
rocky branch of the Saco and Ellis river in Bartlett, near 
the south line of the town of Jackson. 

Bald-face Mountain is composed of granite, having a few 
dykes of greenstone trap cutting through its midst. The 
elevation at which the iron ore occurs is fourteen hundred and 
four feet above the rocky branch of the Saco, and about one 
mile distant. One of the veins at the upper opening meas¬ 
ures thirty-seven feet in width in an east and west, and 
sixteen feet in a north and south, direction. 

The second opening, two hundred feet lower down the slope 
of the hill, exposes the ore, maintaining the same width. Three 
hundred feet lower down the vein is observed to narrow, and 
is but ten feet wide; and four hundred feet further down 
the width increases to fifty-five feet. 

Five hundred and forty-six feet lower still there is a small 
opening, or cave, twenty feet deep, where the ore narrows 
again. A small quantity of bog iron ore has also been dis¬ 
covered, five miles north from Chesley’s Tavern, in the midst 
of the forest. 

Near the house of Captain J. Trickey occur several dykes 
. of greenstone trap, which are so highly charged with carbo¬ 
nate of lime, as to effervesce strongly with acids. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 167 


On Thorn Mountain occur several veins of magnetic iron 
ore, which are contained in a kind of granite, consisting of 
felspar and quartz, without any mica; being, so far as it 
respects its mineralogical composition, a porphyry; but not 
marked by squares of felspar, like a true porphyritic rock. 

The iron ore is found near the top of the mountain, and on 
its western side. The veins are from a few inches to two 
and a half feet wide. 

Tin ore was unknown in the United States anterior to the 
discovery in Jackson, and here but four veins have thus far 
been discovered. Here, also, are found phosphate of iron, ar- 
seniate of iron, tungstate of manganese and iron, fluor of 
spar, mispickel, copper pyrites, purple copper, and a native 
copper. 

Jackson is bounded north by unlocated lands, and south 
by Bartlett. c£ It is watered principally by the two branches 
of Ellis river, passing from the north, and uniting on the 
southern border, near Spruce Mountain. The principal 
mountain elevations are-Black, Bald-face, and Thom Moun¬ 
tains.” When first settled, this town was called New 
Madbury, from the fact that most of its early settlers came 
from Madbury, in the lower part of the state. It retained 
this name till the year 1800, when it was incorporated by 
the name of Adams. Some years after, it was again changed 
to Jackson, its present name. This was done to suit the 
politics of the times; all of its voters but one being for Jack- 
son, when the question was whether he or Adams should be 
president. 

This town was first settled by Benjamin Copp. He moved 
into it in 1778, and, with his family, resisted the terrors of 
the wilderness quite twelve years before any other inhabitant 
moved into it. During this time, his hardships and privations 


168 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


must have been great. No one can well conceive of them 
unless he has had some acquaintance with a forest residence. 
Living at the present day amid a sparse population will not 
give one such conceptions, much less will a residence in a 
city or larger village do it. To be surrounded in every di¬ 
rection by a dense forest, extending for miles, with no 
neighbors to whom you might resort in times of want or sick¬ 
ness — with no one to whom you could speak, for months, — 
these form a condition in life, such as those not acquainted 
with them can appreciate but poorly. Mr. Copp knew what 
they were, and was the very man to meet them, being healthy, 
strong and courageous in his nature. His powers of bodily 
endurance were wonderful. They must have been so, or he 
could never have sustained the various hardships and priva¬ 
tions he encountered. 

/ 

Poor food at best, together with seasons of scarcity for ar¬ 
ticles of living, such as they were, must have worn him out 
soon unless he had had what we sometimes call an “iron consti¬ 
tution.” As a specimen, to illustrate his powers of bodily 
endurance, it is said that he has been known often to go ten 
miles to mill, with a bushel of corn on his shoulders, and 
never take it off from the time he started from his door till 
he put it down in the mill. He did the same, too, on his re¬ 
turn home. And when he stopped to talk with any one by 
the way, he seldom relieved himself of his burden. He 
rested with the bag on his shoulders. 

In the year 1790, five other families came into this town 
from Madbury, that of Captain Joseph Pinkham, Clement 
Meserve, Jonathan Meserve, John Young, and Joseph L>. 
Pinkham. Daniel Pinkham, then ten years of age, a son of 
the first of the above named, and the builder of the road, 
called by his name the “ Pinkham road,” thus describes the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 169 


moving of his father and his family from Madbury to Jack- 
son : 

u In company with my father, mother, two brothers and 
one sister, I came to the town now called Jackson, the 6th day 
of April, 1790. I was then ten years of age. At that time 
the snow was five feet deep on a level. There was no road 
from Bartlett, about eight miles, and we travelled on the top 
of the snow, which was sufficiently hard to bear us. Our 
' entire stock of provisions, household furniture and clothing, 
was drawn upon a hand-sled. 

“I remember one incident, connected with this first trip, 
which shows the extent to which boys’ ingenuity will go to 
avoid labor. We had a hog with us, which constituted our 
entire stock of animals. Thinking that this hog, though 
not very well trained to the harness, might still afford us 
some aid in getting the sled along, we contrived a harness 
for him, and hitched him on. He worked much better than 
we expected, and, though less fleety than the horse, and less 
powerful than the ox, he did us good and sufficient service. 

“Arrived at our destination, we found the log-house, 
erected the autumn previous, half buried in the snow, and 
had to shovel a hole through to find a door. It had no chim¬ 
ney, no stove, no floor, and no windows, except the open 
door, or the smoke-hole in the roof. We built a fire-place 
at one end, of green logs, and replaced them as often as they 
burned out, till the snow left us, so that we could get rocks 
to supply their place. We had but two chairs, and one bed¬ 
stead. Thus we lived till the summer opened, when we moved 
the balance of our furniture from Conway, where we left it 
on first moving to the town.” 

Mr. Pinkham says, further, in regard to things generally 
in the town, at the time his father moved into it: “ At the 


170 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


early period of the settlement of this town, there -was much 
poverty, and great scarcity as to means of living. Some 
families had cows, and could afford the luxury of milk-por¬ 
ridge, while others, who had no milk, were obliged to eat 
their porridge without milk, made of water and meal only. 

u The river afforded trout, and these constituted a large 
portion of the living for a number of families quite a length of 
time. These trout w r ere first dried in the sun, and then 
roasted by the fire. When salt could be had, this was used 
with them, to give them relish. But often, not only the fish 
and the meat, such as they could get, were cooked and eaten 
without salt, but even porridge w T as eaten without it. This 
w^as the best they could do in relation to sustenance. For 
transportation they used only hand-sleds for a number 
of years. For barns they built hovels of logs covered 
with bark. Want and hard labor were familiar to them; but 
hope in the future sustained them, and in time they were 
surrounded with sufficient luxuries of life to make them com¬ 
fortable and happy. 5 ’ 

Soon after Captain Pinkham, the father of the man giv¬ 
ing us the above account, moved into this town, an event 
transpired, near his residence, of thrilling interest. He lived 
near a river. One night he heard, some distance below his 
house, on the river, what he thought was the hallooing of a 
bear. It resembled that of a man; but, as it v T as a time 
when men were seldom abroad, and as bears often halloo 
very much like a man, he thought it w r as one of these, espe¬ 
cially as they were plenty in the region. Acting under this 
impression, he took his gun, and went out to shoot him. 
Coming near to the spot whence the voice sounded, and wish¬ 
ing not to disturb the bear, he crept softly till he came in 
sight of him, as he supposed, and prepared to fire. Just at 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 171 


I 


this instant he heard a coughing. It was a man he was pre¬ 
paring to fire at, — a Captain Vere Royce. He was a sur¬ 
veyor, from Fry burg, come into town to survey some land; 
but, being late in his arrival, and intercepted by the river, 
he went to that point on it where he was first seen, and hal¬ 
looed for assistance to get across. Waiting for somebody to 
come and aid him in crossing, he escaped the peril to his life 
w T e have just recited. He coughed at an instant to save 
him from death. 

At an early period in the history of this town, one of those 
terrible tornadoes passed over it, which are occasionally expe¬ 
rienced in New England. It was so strong that scarcely 
anything could stand before it. Houses and barns were lev¬ 
elled to the ground, and trees were whirled about in the air like 
sticks. Men and children were caught up and carried along 
by its resistless force for many rods. Unlike most of the 
other violent winds which have passed over New England, 
this took place in the winter. The fearful tornado, which so 
desolated Warner and New London, in 1821, occurred in 
September, and was preceded by some of the hottest weather 
of the season. During the prevalence of this wind in Jack- 
son a most ludicrous expedient was adopted by one of its 
inhabitants to save his children from being torn from him, 
and borne away on its current. His house had been razed 
by it to the ground. Chairs, beds, bedding, tables and chil¬ 
dren, were all flying in the wind. Snatching his babes with 
almost superhuman strength from the embraces of the rude 
monster, he thrust their heads between two rails of fence, 
and left them thus secured, and their legs dangling in the 
wind, to look after his other property. The five little chil¬ 
dren remained fast to their fastening, and, uninjured, out¬ 
rode the tempest. 


172 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

The hill-sides in this town afford excellent grazing, and 
hundreds of cattle are driven here yearly for pasturing. 
The great number of sheep scattered upon the mountains 
make it the principal place of resort for what bears and 
wolves are yet left among these hills. Occasionally one is 
killed, but rarely. Several years since, a Mr. Meserve acci¬ 
dentally came upon one, coiled up under the roots of an up- 
torn tree. His little son, a lad of some eight or ten years, 
was with him, and first espied the monster. The boy could 
not make out what it w T as, and, much frightened, retreated 
precipitately to his father, exclaiming that he saw something 
under the tree. Trembling through fear, he could only say 
that it looked awful ugly, had great glaring eyes, and that 
he guessed it was the devil. Advancing to see what it was 
that had so frightened his little son, the father saw, rolled up 
under the roots, a large she-bear. He had with him only a 
gun loaded with a small charge of shot for a partridge. 
The prize was, however, too tempting to be lost. He had 
■with him a huge jack-knife, which he opened and gave to 
his son to reach him when he should want it. He then 
fired directly into the face of the bear. “ The old woman 
didn’t like the treatment; but Meserve loaded, and gave 
another dose, when the bear starting to run, he seized his 
knife, jumped on to her back, caught her by the head, threw 
her over, and cut her throat. She w r as a monstrous beast, 
and so fat she could hardly waddle.” 

A Freewill Baptist church was formed in this town in the 
year 1803, which has existed to the present time, and flour¬ 
ished. Eider Daniel Elkins was its first minister. He was 
an honest, good man, and labored much and successfully for 
the good of the church and town. Nor were his labors con¬ 
fined to these alone. For years he was a sort of bishop in 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 173 


all the region. In our earlier years we have often seen his 
smiling face, and heard his full, earnest voice at funerals, 
and on other occasions, in Conway and Bartlett. We re¬ 
member him, as he appeared at such seasons, very distinctly; 
and if we could put on canvas the exact image of him, such 
as now exists in our minds, we could furnish a portrait of 
him true to life. 

His pretensions to learning were small, and, yet, he seldom 
failed to interest those truly learned, by his honest simplicity 
and meekness. He can hardly be better described than in 
the words of the ancient poet, Chaucer: 

“ Benign he was, and wondrous diligent, 

And in adversity full patient. 

* * * * * 

Wide was his parish, and houses far asunder, 

But he never felt nor thought of rains or thunder. 

In sickness and in mischief to visit 
The faithful in his parish much and oft, 

Upon his feet, and in his hand a staff; 

This noble example to his sheep he gav*e, 

That first he wrought, and afterwards he taught. 

Out of the gospel he the words caught. 

And this figure he added yet thereto, 

That if gold rust, what should iron do ? 

And if a priest be foul, on whom we trust, 

No wonder if a common man do rust. 

Well ought a priest example for to give, 

By his cleanness, how his sheep should live.” 


15 * 


CHAPTER XIII. 


CONWAY. 

BEAUTIFUL SCENERY OF CONWAY. -AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE.-ATTRACTIONS OF 

CONWAY TO HUNTERS AND EARLY SETTLERS. -ELIJAH DINSMORE. -EX¬ 
PEDIENT TO KEEP FROM STARVING.-STORY OF EMERY.-GREAT FRESHET. 

-MAPLE SUGAR. -MR. WILLEY’S ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR.-STEPHEN 

ALLARD’S BEAR STORY. -SCHOOLS. — BOYS AND THE HOGS. -CONGREGA¬ 
TIONAL CHURCH.— DR. PORTER. — BAPTIST CHURCH.- CHATAUQUE. — 

NORTH CONWAY.—LEDGES.-FAMILY BURYING-PLACE. - NAMES OF THE 

FAMILY DESTROYED AT THE NOTCH. 




“ My own green land forever ! 

Land of the beautiful and brave.” 

u One who visits the Conway meadows, sees the original 
of half the pictures that have been shown in our art-rooms 
the last two years. All our landscape painters must try their 
hand at that perfect gem of New England scenery. One 
feels, in standing on that green plain, with the music of the 
Saco in his ears, hemmed in by the broken lines of its 
guardian ridges, and looking up to the distant summit of 
Mount Washington, that he is not in any county of New 
Hampshire, not in any namable latitude of this rugged earth, 
but in the world of pure beauty —the adytum of the temple 
where God is to be worshipped, as the infinite Artist, in joy.” 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 175 


The mountains in Conway, and those on her borders, are 
among the most important things pertaining to her location. 
They help, essentially, to make her what she really is, one 
of the most delightful spots on earth. They surround her, 
particularly North Conway, almost as entirely as the moun¬ 
tains surround Jerusalem. To appreciate this fully you have 
but to take a position somewhere on the main road, about 
three miles south of Bartlett, standing with your face to the 
north. On your right will stretch up a line of mountains 
from Rattlesnake Mountain, situated about south-east, to 
Pequawket or Kearsarge on the north-east. Sweeping 
round from this, you pass over Thom, and Double-head, and 
Black Mountains, till you come, at length, to the long range 
of the Motes that separate Conway from Upper Bartlett. 
From this point you follow them down on your left till you 
come to their terminus, a point in the heavens about south¬ 
west from where you stand. It is a grand post of observation 
to occupy at any time of the year, but keep it through the 
season, and for majesty and beauty you get a view of scenes 
such as can be obtained scarcely anywhere else. In winter 
you will see a parapet of mountains around you, shorn, in¬ 
deed, of their summer attractions, but still commanding your 
attention from the naked and unadorned sublimity of their 
appearance. Pequawket will rise up before you, like an old 
sentinel who has stood his post for centuries amidst the many 
lightnings and storms that have beat on his defenceless head. 

On either side of him will be his companions, reposing 
soberly and solemnly under their mantle of snow. In spring 
you will see nature in her loveliness — the hill-tops and 
mountain-sides blooming in their greenness; and especially on 
the smooth, beautiful intervales, skirting along close under 
your feet, you will see grasses and flowers in such abundance 


176 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


as completely to cover the surface of them with their strong 
luxuriance. In summer, you will see the plains and the val¬ 
leys, less cheerful with swelling buds and blossoms, and fresh 
leaves of trees, and plants, but fragrant with fruit, the corn¬ 
fields ripening towards the harvest, and the golden wheat- 
fields reddening for the sickle. In autumn, you may see the 
sober, mournful change upon the trees, on the mountain tops 
and sides, the bright green verging to the solemn carmine, 
and almost every other sombre pallid hue of which an Amer¬ 
ican forest is susceptible. The Rev. T. Starr King thus 
w r rites to the Boston Transcript , in the fall of 1852 : 

11 The only way to appreciate the magnificence of the 
autumnal forest scenery in New England is to observe it on 
the hills. I never before had a conception of its gorgeous¬ 
ness. The appearance of the mountain-sides, as w r e wound 
between them and swept by, was as if some omnipotent magic 
had been busy with the landscape. It v T as hard to assure 
one's self that the cars had not been switched off into fairy land, 
or that our eyes had not been dyed with the hues of the rain¬ 
bow. No dream could have had more brilliant or fantastic 
drapery. 

“ Now t we would see acres of the most gaudy yellow heaped 
upon a hill-side ; soon a robe of scarlet and yellow would grace 
the proportions of a stalwart sentinel of the valleys; here and 
there a rocky and naked giant had thrown a brilliant scarf of 
saffron and gold about his loins and across his shoulders : and 
frequently a more sober mountain, with aristocratic and un¬ 
impeachable taste, would stand out, arrayed from chin to feet 
in the richest garb of brown, purple, vermilion, and straw- 
color, tempered by large spots of heavy and dark evergreen. 
It did not seem possible that all these square miles of gorgeous 
carpeting and brilliant upholstery had been the work of 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 177 


one week, and had all been evoked, by the wand of frost, out 
of the monotonous green which June had flung over nature. 
The trees seemed to have bloomed into roses, or rather to be 
each a nosegay, done up into proper shape, and waiting to be 
plucked for the hand of some brobdignag belle.” 

Darby Field says that he “ found ten falls on that (Saco) 
river, to stop boats, and there were thousands of acres of rich 
meadow to Pegwagget (Conway), an Indian town.” At¬ 
tracted by the glowing accounts which hunters gave of these 
u rich meadows,” settlers early came to Conway from the 
lower towns. The extensive tracts of intervale, from fifty to 
two hundred and twenty rods wide, and extending through 
the entire length of the town, were then covered with a 
thick growth of white pine and maple. Game was nowhere 
so plenty ; fish and fowl and animals were almost as thick as 
in the jungles of Africa. Settlers came mostly from Durham 
and Lee, following an easterly course until they reached the 
Saco, and then going north guided by the stream. Indian 
villages were thickly scattered along its banks, poor and 
small, however, in comparison with the once flourishing set¬ 
tlements of the Pequawkets. This tribe had received its 
death-blow, and nothing but deep hatred was left them. Fear 
alone prevented them from murdering the hardy pioneers 
following up their beautiful river to take possession of the 
rich hunting-grounds of their fathers. 

The first settlement was made in this town in 1764. 
James and Benjamin Osgood, John Doloff and Ebenezer 
Burbank, were the first settlers. Their hardships in reach¬ 
ing their northern homes were similar to those we have 

o 

related in the history of most of these towns. One Elijah 
Dinsmore and wife performed the journey in the dead of 
winter, travelling on snow-shoes from Lee, a distance of eighty 


1T8 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


miles. A huge pack contained all their furniture, which he 
carried on his back. They spent their nights in the open air, 
and slept, if they slept at all, upon the u cold, cold snow.” 

An expedient of the settlers to sustain their strength, dur¬ 
ing times of great scarcity of provisions, is worth noticing. 
A wide strap of some skin was fastened around them; each 
day, as they grew more emaciated and thin, the strap being 
drawn the straiter. Often the buckle was drawn almost to 
the last hole, the wearer anxiously eying and counting the 
number of holes, beyond which was complete prostration. 

One persevering man, named Emery, had actually buckled 
into the last hole, and, hardly able to stand, tottered round, 
expecting on the morrow to be unable to rise. A neighbor, 
in nearly as bad a condition as himself, crept to his door, and 
informed him that a moose was not far from his cabin. The 
poor neighbor himself would have killed him had he had a 
gun. The intelligence brought a little strength to Emery, 
and could his strap be drawn a little tighter they yet might 
live. They cut a new hole, and, with all their strength, the 
skeleton men tightened the strengthening strap. As noiseless 
as a shadow he crept out, and, steadying his aim with great 
effort, killed the moose. Together the two famished men sat 
down to their repast, and before the close of the following day, 
it is said , their straps would hardly reach round them. 

In 1675 the town was granted to Daniel Foster, the 
grantees agreeing to pay one ear of Indian corn each annually 
for ten years. Most of the early settlers built their cabins 
on the intervales along the banks of the river. They 
regarded as of little consequence the sudden rises of the 
Saco until the year 1800, when the “ great freshet” taught 
them the folly of their course, and drove them back upon the 
high land. Houses and barns were all swept away by this 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 179 


sudden rise of water. Water ran many feet deep over the 
whole wide intervale. On the day following the storm 
houses and barns w T ere seen sailing quietly down the current, 
the cocks crowing merrily as they floated on. This storm 
occasioned great loss of property. 

The extensive growth of maple afforded for many years 
almost the entire support of the inhabitants. Maple sugar, 
in almost incredible quantities, was yearly manufactured. 
These meadows have gradually been cleared of their growth, 
but even to this day orchards of this noble tree may be seen 
on many of the islands around which rush the waters of 
the turbulent Saco. The operation of making the sugar is 
so 'well described by the authoress of the “ Backwoods of 
Canada,” that tve extract it in this place : 

u A pole was fixed across two forked stakes strong enough 
to bear the weight of the big kettle. The employment during 
the day was emptying the troughs and chopping wood to 
supply the fires. In the evening they lit the fires, and began 
boiling down the sap. It was a pretty and picturesque sight 
to see the sugar-boilers. with their bright log-fire among 
the trees, now stirring up the blazing pile, now throwing 
in the liquid, and stirring it down with a big ladle. When 
the fire grew fierce, it boiled and foamed up in the kettle, 
and they had to throw in fresh sap to keep it from running 
over. When the sap begins to thicken into molasses, it is 
brought to the sugar-boiler to be finished. The process 
is simple; it only requires attention in skimming, and 
keeping the mass from boiling over, till it has arrived at 
the sugaring point, which is ascertained by dropping a little 
into cold water. When it is near the proper consistency, 
the kettle or pot becomes full of yellow froth, that dimples 
and rises in large bubbles from beneath. These throw 


180 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

out puffs of steam, and when the molasses is in this stage 
it is nearly converted into sugar. Those who pay great 
attention to keeping the liquid free from scum, and under¬ 
stand the precise sugaring point, will produce an article 
little if at all inferior to Muscovado.” 

Two bear stories illustrate the life of the early inhabitants. 
The first was an encounter with a bear near my fathers 
dwelling in Conway ; one which I faintly recollect, and one, 
too, in which my father w T as the principal actor. We give 
this in the language of my eldest brother, who was the son 
referred to in the description : — 

u One night, in the summer of 1800, my father w r as 
walked from his sleep, by the noise of the sheep running furi¬ 
ously by his house. Springing from his bed to a window", 
he discovered, by the light of the moon, an enormous bear 
in close pursuit of them. Calling me instantly, then a boy 
about fourteen years old, w r e sallied forth with the gun, and 
nothing on but our night-clothes, to pursue this fell destroyer. 
By this time the sheep had made a turn, and w T ere coming 
down toward the house, with the bear at their heels. Secret¬ 
ing ourselves a moment in a shed back of the house, until 
the sheep had passed, my father sprang forth with his gun. 
Old bruin, stopping to see wdiat his ghostly visitor meant, 
was instantly fired at, and severely w r ounded. My father and 
myself, with our axes, offered him a closer combat, and he 
readily accepted the challenge. After two or three charges, 
we considered it the better part of valor to retreat to the 
house, which we did, closely pursued by the bear. While 
we were in the house, reloading the gun, the enraged animal 
crept up to the window, near the head of my father’s bed. 
My mother, supposing the bear to be on the other side of the 
house, in attempting to look out through the window, put her 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 181 


head within a few inches of his nose. On discovering her per¬ 
ilous situation, she gave one of those piercing female shrieks 
which make the welkin ring, and fell back on the floor. By 
this time we had reloaded the gun, and now issued forth 
to renew the combat. But, owing to the bad state of the 
powder, we were unable to fire the gun again. Perceiving 
the bear to be gaining strength, and showing signs of an in¬ 
tention to retreat to the woods, after a few moments’ consult¬ 
ation, we determined to make another desperate effort to kill 
him with our axes. My father, after receiving strong 
assurances that I would stand by him, approached the bear 
the second time, and drove the axe into his head up to the 
eye, and so finished him.” This was a remarkable bear for 
size and boldness. He measured fourteen inches between his 
ears, was nine feet long from his nose to his tail. Though lean, 
he weighed seventy-five pounds a quarter. It was judged 
at the time that, if he had been fat, he would have weighed 
six hundred pounds. Instead of travelling in the woods, as 
most do, when he went from place to place, he often travelled 
in the public highway. On the very night in which my 
father had the encounter with him, and killed him, he was 
met by a man on horseback, on the main road.” 

A mile south of Conway Corner, on the road to Eaton, a 
small hill rises up very abruptly from a little pond of water. 
An early settler of Albany, a stout, athletic man, was ascend¬ 
ing this hill one intensely dark night. Near the summit, he 
came suddenly and unawares into the warm embrace of a 
big bear. The bear, more on the alert than himself, had 
snuffed his approach, and, to give him a cordial welcome, 
had risen on her hind legs and spread out her fore ones. 
The man immediately knew his antagonist, and a regular con¬ 
test in wrestling commenced between the two. The bear 

16 


182 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


hugged, and the man tripped. By a dexterous trip, he at 
last threw the bear from her feet, and the two went down 
together. The hill was so steep that they commenced to roll 
over, first one top, and then the other, nothing stopping them 
until they tumbled splash into the pond. Crawling wet out 
of the water, neither felt inclined to renew the contest. The 
name of this man was Stephen Allard, a kind, peaceful citi¬ 
zen, or else certainly the neighborhood to him could never 
be an object of desire. 

A view of some of the schools of our boyhood so well 
illustrates the difficulties and privations of the first settlers in 
educating their children, that we can but refer to them. We 
presume other towns might have afforded instances of as great 
or greater disadvantages than this town; but let Conway 
speak for the whole. 

The first that now occurs to us was kept, literally, in a 
small opening in the woods. To reach it, most of the schol¬ 
ars had always to go in paths cut through the thick forest, 
and in “ bad weather” on sleds drawn by oxen; and when, 
by such means, they reached the house of instruction, it was 
very poor, and illy adapted to the end for which it was de¬ 
signed. It was contracted in dimensions, and rude in its 
construction. The walls were built of rough hemlock logs,, 
grooved together at their ends, and covered with the bark of 
trees, and rude boards. The something that answered for a 
fire-place and chimney was constructed with poor bricks and 
rocks, together with sticks, laid up so as to form what was 
called a “catting,” to guide the smoke. It was lighted by 
panes of glass placed singly in its wall. Rude, however, as 
it was in structure, many a contest in “ spelling and cipher¬ 
ing” has taken place within its walls: and many tears have 
been shed, and bursts of applause shaken the very bark on 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


183 


its roof, at the successful performance of the “ Conjurer,” 
and u Neighbor Scrapewell.” 

Another school, and the last we shall specify, to illustrate 
the general character of schools half a century since, was 
kept, about that time, near the place of my birth. It was 
kept by a veteran teacher, peculiar in his habits and aspect, 
keen, fearless, and practised in his business. He kept in a 
house we shall not describe at great length. In a few words, 
it was contracted in its dimensions, uninviting in its general 
appearance, and open on its walls and floor, so that both the 
light and the winds of heaven could pass freely through it. 
Under the house the hogs had as free access as the light and 
the winds of heaven had into it above. This was their cher¬ 
ished place of resort; and they were there, too, every day, 
as regularly as the scholars were to the school. They greatly 
annoyed the teacher, but were as acceptable to most of the 
scholars as they were troublesome to him. Many were the 
scenes of amusement, during that school, which took place 
with these hogs. Sometimes, after lying and rolling on the 
ground awhile, grunting and growling as they rooted each 
other's sides, they would rise up, and, brushing along under 
the floor, carry their bristles up through the large cracks 
into plain sight of the scholars. Seeing these, one of them 
would creep along, when the master’s eye was turned, and 
give them a sharp pull. Then immediately would come a 
squeal, and after that sharp words from the teacher. “ Boys! 
let those hogs alone; mind your studies.” For a moment 
they would put their faces into their books, and seem content ; 
but they would n’t “ stay put.” There was a working of 
humor that must be gratified, and now was a good time to 
gratify it. Presently the bristles would be seen moving 
along again in the crack of the floor, and then would follow 


184 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


another pull, and then immediately another squeal. Now 
would come stronger, sterner words from the teacher. 
“Boys! I say, let those hogs alone. If you don’t, I’ll 
give it to you!” This, it might seem, would stop them, and 
it did seem to affect them awhile. But still the itching in 
them for fun was not yet allayed. Their fingers worked 
nervously to be hold of those bristles again, and provoke 
another squeal. Nor did they wait long before another op¬ 
portunity came to indulge their craving. Soon the bristles 
appeared again, and then came another pull, and immedi¬ 
ately another squeal. Now things became more serious, and 
the teacher must put more authority and power into his 
words than he had in either of the preceding cases. “ Con¬ 
sumption, boys!”—that was the word he often used —“ Con¬ 
sumption, boys ! what do you mean ? If you don't let these 
hogs alone I ’ll tan your jackets for you ! I 'll make your 
backs smoke ! ” 

The early settlers of Conway, true to the puritan spirit of 
their fathers, under which they were trained, were not un¬ 
mindful of religious and moral institutions. They took 
seasonable means toward planting these among them, for the 
benefit of themselves and their descendants after them. 

A Congregational church was formed in this town, Octo¬ 
ber 28th, 1778, consisting of Timothy Walker, Abiel Love- 
joy, Thomas Russell and Richard Eastman. Soon after its 
formation, Noah Eastman, Abiathar Eastman, with their 
wives and others, were added to it. Rev. Nathaniel Porter, 
D. D., was the first pastor of this church, installed over it 
at the time of its formation. In this relation he labored 
with the church and people for the space of thirty-seven 
years*; and to say that he labored well through many pri¬ 
vations and hardships, would be saying no more than we 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 185 

ought to say. It is not the place here to attempt any extended 
view of his ministerial character. That has been given 
already, better than we can give it in this place. We have 
the opportunity, however, to say a few things respecting him 
here, and our heart would reproach us if we did not say 
them. We knew him well, being for a season his colleague 
in the ministry. And we knew him only to admire him ; his 
keen, sharp eye, and his sharper intellect; his salient wit; 
his original thoughts, exhibited in conversation or writing ; 
and, above all, his manifested regard, in every place, for what 
was the plain teaching and design of the Bible. He was a 
doctor, made such by one of the most discriminating, learned 
institutions in the land. The title was well conferred. He 
deserved it, not because he studied books very extensively, 
but because he read the few choice ones he had carefully; 
not because he studied classics much, or the fathers, but be¬ 
cause he studied nature in the forests, in the grand moun¬ 
tains surrounding him, together with his own heart, and the 
hearts of others, especially in the light of God’s revealed 
truth. Doctor Porter was poor through all his life, often, 
for the want of other lights, writing his sermons by the blaze 
of pitch knots. In going to his meetings on the Sabbath, 
which were always miles from his home, he generally went, 
in early times especially, on horseback, often facing a stiff 
north-west wind. The same was true in relation to the fune¬ 
rals he attended, and his weddings, and his visitings. He never 
knew much about the luxury of an easy carriage. To this 
it may be owing, partiy at least, that he lived to so great an 
age — ninety-three years. In the best days of his manhood 
he scarcely ever failed to impress one with the deep penetra¬ 
tion and force of his mind. Said a preceptor of Fryburg 
Academy once, “ I had rather see anything come into my 
16 * 


186 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


school than those keen, piercing eyes,” referring to Doctor 
Porter. “I am afraid of them.” This he said, not because he 
especially disliked him, but because, in connection with a 
few others, the doctor was deputed by the trustees to visit 
his school, and correct some of its irregularities. This im¬ 
pression had of him, by the preceptor, from a slight acquaint¬ 
ance, would be deepened by a larger intercourse with him. 
This would affect you with a feeling similar to that possessed 
by the poet, when he said, referring to a certain person, 

“ He is a man of grave and earnest mind, 

Of •warm heart, yet with a sense of duty — 

As how he must employ his powerful mind — 

That drives all empty trifles from his brain, 

And bends him sternly o’er his solemn tasks ; 

Things nigh impossible are plain to him. 

His trenchant will, like a fine-tempered blade, 

With upturned edge, cleaves through the baser iron.” 

A Baptist church was formed in this town, August 26th, 
1796. Among their ministers have been Richard Ransom 
Smith, father of the present Mayor of Boston; Roswell 
Mears, and others. 

There are two villages in Conway. Chatauque, or Con¬ 
way Corner, is a small village situated near the junction of 
the Saco and Swift rivers. It commands a fine prospect of 
Mount Washington and the other White Mountains, which 
are distinctly seen up the valley of the Saco. A splendid 
and capacious hotel, called the “ Conway House,” has re¬ 
cently been opened here. It is under the charge of Mr. 
Eastman. It is not surpassed by any hotel in the state. 

North Conway, five miles further north, is pleasantly situ¬ 
ated near the beautiful intervales of the Saco. Many fami¬ 
lies resort to this village, in order to avoid the noise, bustle 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 187 


and expense of the large hotel. This village is also the 
favorite resort for artists. Pequawket Mountain is ascended 
from this place. There are several fine hotels. On the 
western bank of the Saco, opposite North Conway, are two 
very high mountain ledges. The most northerly, sometimes 
called “Hart’s Looking-glass,” rises up about perpendicular 
six hundred and fifty feet. The other is nine hundred 
and fifty feet high. They stand on a level fine plain, and 
rise up so abruptly that you can ride to their very base. 
One of them is so interspersed with white quartz and bushes, 
as to present the illusion of a white horse ascending its side. 
Hence it is known as the “ White Horse Ledge.” 

“ One cannot help being struck, at North Conway, with 
its capacity of improvement. It might be made as lovely a 
spot as it is possible for this planet to hold. If some duke 
or merchant prince, with his unlimited income, could put 
the resources of landscape taste upon it, gem it with cottages, 
hedge off the farms upon the meadows, span the road with 
elms, cultivate the border hills as far up as there is good soil, 
the village might be made a new Eden. Or even if the in¬ 
habitants would consent to remove their barns from the most 
sightly places, tear down the fences from the intervale, and 
sod the sandy banks that fret and heat the eye on a sultry 
day when it turns towards the cool verdure below, the gen¬ 
eral effect would be vastly better. The beauty of the place 
is measured by the fact that people so seldom notice the 
entire lack of everything like taste which is shown in the 
arrangement of the houses and grounds. 

On the boundary between Conway and Bartlett, near the 
homestead of my father, on the high bank overlooking the 
intervale and the Saco, is the burying-place of my family. 
Here rest the remains of the bodies of my brother’s family 


188 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


recovered from the avalanche. In one wide grave they sleep, 
— father, and mother, and two children. Three yet sleep 
among the ruins of the storm. A broad stone near the en¬ 
trance of the yard marks their resting-place. The following 
are the names of those destroyed 


Samuel Willey, jr., 

aged 

38 

Polly L. Willey, 

u 

35 

Eliza Ann, 

u 

13 

Jeremiah L. 

tl 

11 

Martha G., 

a 

9 

Elbridge G., 

u 

7 

Sally, 

it 

5 

David Nickerson, 

a 

21 

David Allen, 

it 

• • 

37 

first, parents ; five next, children ; 

two last, hired 


The three first and three last have been found. 





CHAPTER XIV. 


FRYBURG. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRYBURG IN EARLY TIMES. -THE GRANT OF TOWN TO 

GEN. FRYE. -CONDITIONS OF THE GRANT. — FIRST SETTLERS. -THEIR 

HARDSHIPS. - OLIVER PEABODY. - INDIANS. - SABATIS. — ENCOUNTER 

WITH A CATAMOUNT. -LOVE OF THE WATER. -INDIANS’ LOVE FOR MR. 

FESSENDEN.-OLD PHILIP.-FRYBURG. — EXPEDITION TO SHELBURNE.- 

FRYBURG ACADEMY.-^BUILDINGS. - PRECEPTORS. — PAUL LANGDON.- 

DANIEL WEBSTER.-AMOS J. COOK.-REV. WILLIAM FESSENDEN. -MA¬ 

RION LYLE HURD. 


“ Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trod.” 

Fryburo was, in early times, the principal, and, in fact, 
the only village of the White Mountains. It was, for long 
years, the centre whence came all the fashions, and to which 
tended all the trade. Its favorable situation, in respect to 
the seaboard towns, and the rapidity with which the village 
grew, gave it great prominence in its early days. Every neigh¬ 
borhood and settlement sent its representatives, weekly, to 
the village, to trade, and its one Tong street was then a busy 
scene of bustle and activity. Unlike most of our villages, it 
sprang up, in a comparatively few years, to its full size. It 
stands on a broad, level plain, slightly elevated above the 
intervales of the Saco, which encloses it in one of its huge 



190 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


folds. On a broad, straight, beautiful sheet the village is 
principally built. 

The “ old Province of Maine,” says "Williamson, the 
king had no right to give away. But, in violation of all 
right, he did give to Gen. Joseph Frye a grant of land since 
called Fryburg, from its grantee. Gen. Frye had been an 
officer in the king’s army, and received the grant in con¬ 
sideration of his gallant deeds on the frontiers. He had been 
at Fort William Henry, and escaped, with the gallant 
Monro, the fearful carnage which cast such a stain upon the 
honor of Montcalm. He was an officer in command of a 
company, and, it has been faintly hinted, opposed the sur¬ 
render of the fort. On his return he w^as presented with an 
elegant silver-mounted sword and tankard. 

The grant was made in the year 1762. The conditions of 
the grant were that he should give bond to the province 
treasurer to have the township settled with sixty good fami¬ 
lies, each of which should have built, within the term of 
five years, a good house, twenty feet by eighteen, and seven 
feet stud, and have cleared seven acres for pasturage or till¬ 
age. He should reserve one sixty-fourth of the township for 
the first Protestant minister, one sixty-fourth for a parson¬ 
age forever, one sixty-fourth for a school fund forever, one 
sixty-fourth for Harvard College forever. A Protestant min¬ 
ister was to be settled in the township within ten years. 

The first settler was a Mr. Nathaniel Smith, a sort of 
squatter , led hither of his ©wn free will and inclination. His 
cabin was reared, and his family moved into it the year suc¬ 
ceeding the grant, in the summer of 1763. In the fall of 
this year, influenced by the glowing representations of Gen. 
Frye, came Samuel Osgood, Moses Ames, John Evans, and 
Jedediah Spring, from Concord, N. H. “Their path,” 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 191 


says a true son of Fry burg, 11 was through the w'oods for 
sixty or seventy miles. For this distance no friendly house 
of entertainment on the way, in which to rest their weary 
limbs, or satisfy the demands of appetite — no, not even the 
hut of an humble peasant could be seen. 

These were they who encountered the hardships, the 
fatigues, the sufferings, the losses attendant on the first set¬ 
tlers of a land so remote from the benefits of knowledge and 
refinement—who enjoyed the fruits of friendship even in 
society so narrow in its bounds — who established themselves 
in the bosom of an extensive wilderness, and constituted the' 
first civil family on its desolate plain. 

In this romantic retreat, from these small beginnings, a 
beautiful village has arisen ; and the population of it and the 
surrounding country has been beyond calculation. To those 
venerable fathers, therefore, 

“ Patient of toil ; serene amidst alarms ; 

Inflexible in faith ; invincible in arms ; ” 

to those w r orthy matrons, who, with heroic courage, and 
fortitude of soul, set hardships and dangers at defiance, who 
raised with tender, fostering care, a race of hardy sons; to 
their spirit of patriotism are w r e indebted, next to Divine 
Providence, for the enjoyment of this goodly land. 

The nearest white neighbors whom they, for a long time, 
had, were at Saco; and, even with those there were no 
means of communication. Sanford w r as their place of resort 
to obtain those articles of necessity which they could not 
forego ; and this w T as nearly sixty miles off. The only mode 
of conveyance was on horses, and their guides were the 
marked trees of the forest. If there our fathers were 
parched with drouth, the sallying spring would slake their 


192 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


thirst. If their stomachs craved food, the cold luncheon 
of beef or venison would satisfy the appetite. If their 
weary limbs demanded repose, the moist ground was the 
bed on which it w T as sought, and on which it w T as usually 
found. 

After the settlement began, the town settled very rapidly. 
Among the long list of proprietors, we find the name of that 
almost ubiquitous person, Oliver Peabody, who seems to 
have had a hand in settling most of the towns in this region. 
A deed of rights of two sixty-fourths he obtained; one 
sixty-fourth better off than most of those who helped to 
settle only this tow T n. 

This was a favorite resort of the Indians: and, for many 
years after the dispersion of the Pequawket tribe, solitary 
members continued to linger around their old home. Old 
Philip, Sabatis, Tom Hegon, and Sw T arson, are familiar 
names with the old people yet. Sabatis w^as a great favor¬ 
ite with the whites, and many are the stories yet told of him. 
A little cross, w T e think, at times, perhaps when in liquor; 
for w T e have heard it said that sometimes he had to sleep out 
doors. The old man was a hydropathist, and always slept 
on such occasions w T ith his feet in water. He w r as a little 
timid withal, and the sudden appearance of any wild animal 
when alone, especially during the last years of his life, 
would set his teeth to chattering quite merrily. A catamount 
caused him a dreadful fright; the adventure with which he 
chattered off in broken English to every one who wrnuld listen 
to his story. The huge fellow lay couched in a tree, and the 
first that Sabatis saw wtis his fierce eyeballs glaring full 
upon him. “Me hold up the gun,” said he; “but me 
tremble so. afraid to fire; me take the gun down. Then 
me try it again. Hold up, but still tremble so, afraid to fire. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 193 


Afraid the gun would not go; or, if it did go, that I 
should n’t hit. So me greatly troubled about it. Afraid to 
go away and leave her, cause then she jump on me; so must 
fire, or be killed. Dreadfully troubled; so me try it. By 
and by, hold up the gun little more steady; not ,so much 
tremble. Then I more steady, and fire. Catamount drop. 
She no come upon me.” 

Another of his hydropathic tricks was swimming among 
the cakes of ice, as they came down the Saco in the cold 
waters of the spring, diving among them, and coming up 
crying, “ See otter ! See otter ! ” The boys admired old 
Sabatis. 

The Rev. Mr. Fessenden was very popular with the 
Indians. His son says he has seen a dozen cooking their 
meat in his father’s fire-place at once. 

“ His house was known to all the vagrant train. 

He chid their wanderings, but relieved their pain.” 


Major Rogers was aided in his expedition against St. 
Francis by old Philip, and by the few Pequawkets, of whom 
he was chief. During that expedition, two little Indian boys 
were captured by Philip and his Indians, one of whom was 
named Sabatis, the same probably referred to above. Old 
Philip joined the American army during the revolution, 
saying “he was a whig Indian.” Swanson, a companion 
of Philip, was of such service to the American cause, that 
he was presented with an elegant sword. 

At the time of the “ Shelburne massacre,” which we have 
given at length in the chapters on Shelburne and Segar’s 
narrative, when the settlers seemed just on the eve of being 
all butchered by the savages, a man was dispatched to Fry- 
burg in hot haste for assistance. Nobly did the gallant 

IT 


194 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


little settlement respond to the call. The messenger arrived 
at Fry burg a little past noon; immediately two men 
mounted their horses, and, proceeding up both banks of the 
Saco, summoned all the men, w T ith their guns, to repair at 
once to the house of one Nathaniel Walker. Quickly they 
assembled, and learned from the messenger the terrible fate 
which seemed pending over their neighbors. When the call 
was made for volunteers to march at once to their assistance, 
thirty brave men stepped forward—thirty brave men, but 
in no condition to undertake such an expedition. Many of 
them were barefooted, some bareheaded, and a few nearly as 
destitute of clothing as the foe they designed to encounter. 
Before nightfall, however, the thirty men were all armed and 
equipped, and comfortably prepared for the march. In long 
Indian file they marched, Sabatis, the guide, leading the way, 
followed by the commander, Stephen Farrington, on horse¬ 
back. Nathaniel Walker, junior officer of the expedition, 
himself on horseback, brought up the rear of the long file. 
Just after dark they forded the Saco, some two miles above 
the village, and, bidding adieu to their friends, struck out 
into the wilderness. As the sun rose over Bethel Hill the 
following morning, they reached the house of Capt. Twitch- 
ell. Sabatis had already discovered the Indian trail. Stop¬ 
ping but a few moments at Capt. Twitchell’s for food, they 
immediately commenced their pursuit of the savages. 

The Indians had the start of them more than twelve hours; 
how they had employed these hours may be learned from 
Segars Narrative. 

By the aid of Sabatis, wdio could track them where the 
whites could see no traces whatever, the party followed the 
Indians, till, coming to a rocky hill, even old Sabatis was at 
fault. “Me find um quick,” said the Indian, and struck 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 195 


round the hill. Here they met Clark, whom the Indians 
had permitted to return, on condition that he should stop 
any party of whites who might pursue them, by representing 
the determination of the Indians to kill the prisoners as soon 
as they should find any party in pursuit. 

But the men would not be persuaded; their blood was up, 
and, though Clark told them they could not reach the In¬ 
dians till every prisoner was slain, they would not yield. 

The party, old Sabatis having found the track, pushed on. 
They soon found the piece of spruce bark pegged on to a 
hemlock tree, to which Segar has thus referred: 

“ Here an Indian pulled off some spruce bark , untied my 
hands, and told me to write that, if ever we were overtaken 
by Americans, they, the Indians, would kill the prisoners. 
This bark he stuck on a tree, and then bound my hands 
again.” 

Still, Captain Farrington was for passing on, but at length 
yielded to the unanimous voice of the men, who voted to 
return. u We came back,” says one of the company, “ bur¬ 
ied poor Pettingill, staid over night at Bethel, and the next 
day returned to Fryburg.” 

What a truly heroic expedition, when we consider the cir¬ 
cumstances ! A little settlement, less than twenty years 
of age, fifty miles in the forest, that had already spared the 
flower of its strength for the army, gathers, in less than 
half a day’s notice, a corps of thirty men. This little band 
plunges into the woods at nightfall, and, after a hard night’s 
march, follows the trail of a wily, savage foe, that has 
marked his track with devastation and blood, and are per¬ 
suaded to give up the pursuit only when convinced that it 
will be an injury rather than a benefit to those whom they 
would succor. 


196 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“In November, 1791, a grammar-school was established 
in Fryburg, which, in February, 1792, was incorporated with 
academic privileges, and endowed by the legislature of the 
commonwealth of Massachusetts with twelve thousand acres 
of land. By the vigilance and instrumentality of the trustees, 
these lands have become productive, and the funds thus arising 
secured, in most instances, according to human calculation, 
beyond a possibility of failure, including the tuition of the 
students, give an annual interest of nine hundred dollars.” 

The first building was but little larger, or of much higher 
finish, than the ordinary school-houses of the times. After 
that, a more costly, spacious, and fitting structure was reared. 
This stood quite a long season, but at length, some ten years 
ago, was burnt down. Near the spot where this stood there 
is now a building, reared at great expense, not inferior in any 
respect to its predecessor, perhaps superior on the whole, 
which we hope will remain for a long time to come the light 
and ornament of the place where it stands. 

The first preceptor of Fryburg Academy w'as Paul Lang- 
don, son of Doctor Samuel Langdon, once president of 
Harvard University. He was a good scholar, and graduated 
with the highest honors of that ancient and learned institu¬ 
tion. Few ever left it leaving behind them a higher 
reputation for intellect and mental acquirements. He bid 
fair to mark a brilliant course in life. But things that 
promise most in the outset do not always succeed best in the 
end. The destroyer often lingers around the fairest flower 
in our gardens. It was so in his case. The habit of drink¬ 
ing freely intoxicating drinks, formed in early life, darkened 
his worldly prospects, and checked his opening career of 
greatness. This was his easily-besetting sin, beguiling him 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 197 


in his professional course, and one but for which he might 
have filled as splendid a page in history as any other man. 

Soon after leaving college he w'as induced to go and take 
charge of Fryburg Academy, his friends hoping, by remov¬ 
ing him from the temptations of Portsmouth to such a quiet 
retreat as Fryburg, to break up this habit. But he disap¬ 
pointed them. He found rum in Fryburg, as he had in 
Portsmouth and Cambridge, and drank it. This rendered 
him unfit, at times especially, for the proper management 
of his school. The trustees of the Academy for a long time 
bore with him, and sought to save him by counsel and admo¬ 
nition ; but all to no purpose. At length, after many trials, 
when forbearance ceased to be a virtue, they discharged him. 
After this he occasionally taught public town-schools in the 
vicinity of Fryburg. He was employed on condition that 
he should drink only a certain quantity of spirits per day. 
This w'as dealt out to him by his employers, and he assented 
to it all cheerfully. He w r as •willing to be in the hands of 
others, knowing that he w\as not capable of governing him¬ 
self. It w r as in one of these schools that I first became 
acquainted with him, and acquired all the knowledge of him, 
by personal intercourse, I ever had. I never saw him 
after that school closed; but, during that school, I acquired 
impressions of him, as a teacher and a man, such as time 
never can efface. These were all of the happiest character. 
Even his occasionally leaning to folly cannot essentially 
darken them, more especially because he never justified him¬ 
self in any errings from this source, but always lamented 
them. His manner and spirit as an instructor were such as 
to make almost every one admire him. Many times, as he has 
stood over me while reciting some lessons, have I felt the magic 
of his tone and action. His deep, earnest breathing I can 

17 * 


198 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


now seem almost to hear. His long fore-finger, he used to 
say, humorously, had a good deal of Latin and Greek in it; 
and the manner he used it certainly gave force to the remark. 
It did seem to me that the presence of that fore-finger aided 
me in my recitations. 

Mr. Langdon, through most of his life, with a large fam¬ 
ily on his hands, struggled hard with poverty. At length 
his sons grew up, and, going into successful business, fur¬ 
nished him with a plentiful home in the state of New York. 
Thither he removed from Fryburg, near the close of his 
life, reforming entirely his habit of drinking ; and, professing 
religion, he died, after a few years, under its inspiring con¬ 
solations. 

\ 

Daniel Webster succeeded him in the Academy, though not 
immediately, where he taught nine months. Of him we 
need say but little here, as the world is full of his fame. 
That little shall be that, comparatively, his success as a 
teacher was much inferior to that in the law and in the 
forum. He was eminent in the latter sphere, but just re¬ 
spectable in the former. If he had pursued the business 
of instructing, and made it the main occupation of his life, 
we should probably never have heard of him much beyond 
the precincts of the school-room. 

Amos J. Cook was his successor. He continued in the 
place of preceptor for years. Under his care the Academy 
grew in reputation and numbers; it drew in scholars from 
a wide circle of towns. When we first entered it, fifty years 
ago, there were scholars in it from all the larger towns on 
the nearest seaboard. 

Mr. Cook was a good man. Some prize smart men very 
much; they think it a great thing to say of a man, he is 
shrewd in his movements. And, indeed, these are not unim- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 199 


portant qualities in a person. But, if we must make distinc¬ 
tions in the traits of a man’s character, or give prominence 
to any of them, let it be one of a moral, solid nature. If 
the question be, Shall we look merely for smartness or good¬ 
ness in a man? we say, give us goodness. Now, Mr. Cook 
was not at all deficient in proper smartness or intellect; he 
had enough of these to make him a good teacher. The dis¬ 
tinguishing thing about him, however, was goodness; we do 
not say perfection of character, — one entirely free from 
moral infirmity or weakness, — but prevailing conformance 
to the rules of moral rectitude in conduct and feeling. He 
always carried about with him an apparent deep regard for 
what was due to God and his fellows. We never saw him 
but when reverence to the one and kindness to the others 
were clearly marked on his face; and we never heard any¬ 
thing of him but what indicated a deeply kind and forgiving 
disposition of soul. 

In October, 1774, the Rev. William Fessenden was invited 
to settle in the town; the invitation was accepted, and, in 
October, 1775, he was ordained to the work of the ministry. 
This good man, says a correspondent, continued for many 
years in a happy union with his people. When he became 
the minister of Fryburg the town was new, with but few 
inhabitants, and the most of these in indigent circumstances. 
The sum agreed upon as a compensation for his services was 
small — less, I think, than two hundred dollars per annum; 
and this pittance, in consequence of the poverty incident to 
the people of a new settlement, was never promptly or fully 
paid. With a young and increasing family depending upon 
him for food and raiment, the first years of his ministry were 
years of severe toil, hardship, and privation. He cleared 
and cultivated a little farm, and studied his sermons, as best 


200 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN" HISTORY. 


he could, while his hands were employed in procuring means 
of subsistence for his household, and in hours which should 
have been given to sleep. His library at this time was small 
indeed, consisting of the Bible, and perhaps a volume or two 
of theology and history. I think it might all have been 
carried in a common-sized satchel. 

The book of Inspiration he daily and carefully studied, 
and from it learned his theology, and drew most of the argu¬ 
ments and illustrations which he used to establish and elu¬ 
cidate the truths which lie inculcated in his public discourses, 
As a speaker, his manner was dignified and graceful, his 
voice clear, commanding, and musical. 

He was courageous, energetic, and persevering. I think 
the most prominent traits of his character were benevolence, 
integrity, and frankness. He was generous almost to a fault. 
He ever kept open doors, and always bade a hearty welcome 
to all the hospitalities he was able to furnish; not merely to 
acquaintances and friends, but to the stranger and passing 
traveller, and all who sought a temporary asylum under his 
roof. 

“ The long-remembered beggar was his guest, 

Whose beard, descending, swept his aged breast; 

The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, 

Sat by his fire and talked the night away.” 

Our Sunday school libraries contain the life of a little 
girl, daughter of the present minister of Fryburg, and a 
native of this town. Marion Lyle Hurd is the most won¬ 
derful instance of precocious development on record. Though 
but four years and twenty-one days old when she died, her 
conversation and deportment were more like that of one four¬ 
teen, than one so young. The books of her library were the 
following, as given by her father, near the commencement of 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 201 


her fourth year. “ They were a Bible and Testament, 
Child's Book on Repentance, Life of Moses, Family Hymns, 
Union Hymns, Daily Food. Lessons for Sabbath Schools, 
Henry Milner, Watts’ Divine Songs, Nathan W. Dicker- 
man, Todd's Lectures to Children, and Pilgrim's Progress.” 
These, with her various other books, were kept during the day 
in one part of the room in which she slept, and in the midst of 
them she passed hours daily ; and at night she would carefully 
gather them up in her boxes, and place them beside her bed. 

She began to compare ideas in her mind obtained from her 
reading; to exercise the reasoning faculties, and to make 
inferences ; and often did her countenance indicate a reflect¬ 
ing and thoughtful state of mind. Sometimes it was said to 
her, “Tell me of what you are thinking.” Once, observing 
her in this state of mind, the question was put, “ Marion, 
what are you thinking about? ” 

“lam thinking,” she said, “whether the angels have 
wings! ” 

“ Well, what do you think of it? ” 

“I think they have; for Apollyon, who fought with 
Christian, had wings; and, if wicked angels have wings 
to do hurt with, good ones must have, to do good with.” 

Passages innumerable might be quoted, showing her re¬ 
markable maturity; but one more must suffice. 

Her reading and love of poetry, probably, led Marion to 
attempt clothing her own thoughts in a kind of poetic dress. 
This she began to do. Sometimes, at the table, she would 
utter one or two lines, and then, covering her face, would 
say, 

“ John is laughing at me.” 

This she could not endure. Very frequently the other 
children would say to us, 


202 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

11 Hark ! hark ! hear Marion's rhymes. 5 ’ 

Some of these are still remembered; and, to show the 
operations of her mind, and the mental efforts she was putting 
forth during the last month of her life, we give you an ex¬ 
ample or two. 

Marion, at times, anticipated the return of summer, when 
she could go out and gather flowers, and wished that the 
winter was over, asking how long before the spring and the 
birds would come. On one of these occasions she said: 


“ By and by the spring will come, 
And flowers again will bloom ; 
To the woods and fields I ’ll run. 
And gather flowers till noon.” 

The following was addressed to her doll: 


“ My darling little miss, 

How good you’ve been to-day ; 
I ’ll give you a sweet good kiss, 
And lay you snug away.” 


Reference has been made to the strong attachment Marion 
felt toward those little girls who were her companions at 
school; and to be separated so much from their society, as 
she necessarily was in winter, was a painful sacrifice to her 
feelings. Often, the last winter, would she amuse herself 
by weaving their names into rhyme; and, in her way, sing¬ 
ing them over, as she was engaged among her books and 
playthings. The following are productions of this kind : . 

“ Anna, Sarah, Abby, 

And dear Louisa too ; 

Who have been in to-day, 

To ask me how I do ; 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


I send my love to you, 

This cold and wintry day ; 

T is faithful love and true, 

’T will never die away. 

For you I make this song; 

With me to school you went; 
And fast we ran along, — 

On learning we were bent. 

I’ve pretty things to see. 

And many things to say ; 

So come and visit me 
When mothers come to pray ! ” 


CHAPTER XV. 


*> 


lovewell’s eight. 

VIEW FROM PEQUAWKET MOUNTAIN.—LOVEWELL’S POND.—SUFFERINGS 

OF THE EARLY SETTLERS IN DUNSTABLE.-EXPEDITION TO WINNIPIS- 

EOGEE LAKE. — EXPEDITION OF LOVEWELL TO PEQUAWKET.—IIIS COM¬ 
PANY.— ENCAMPMENT ON THE SHORE OF THE POND.-SITUATION OF 

THE INDIAN VILLAGE. — “CARRYING-PLACE.” — DISCOVERY OF THE FIRST 

INDIAN.-KILL THE INDIAN. -THE BATTLE.-RETREAT OF LOVEWELL’S 

MEN. — CHAMBERLAIN AND PAUGUS. — COUNCIL AT NIGHT. — RETREAT.- 

ENSIGN WYMAN AND COMPANIONS.- MR. FRYE.-JONES. -FARWELL AND 

DAVIS. -TRACES OF THE BATTLE.-THE OLD BALLAD. 


“ Nor, Lovewell, was thy memory forgot, 

Who through the trackless wild thy heroes led. 

Death and the dreadful torture heeding not, 

Mightst thou thy heart-blood for thy country shed, 

And serve her living, honor her when dead. 

0, Lovewell! Lovewell! nature’s self shall die, 

And o’er her ashes be her requiem said, 

Before New Hampshire pass thy story by, 

Without a note of praise, without a pitying eye.” 

Standing upon the summit of Pequawket Mountain, one 
beholds in the south-east, and apparently but a short distance 
from the base of the mountain, the beautiful village of Pry- 
burg, encircled by the circuitous windings of the Saco. 
Directly beyond, and in the immediate neighborhood of the 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 205 


village, lies Lovewell’s Pond, the scene of one of the 
bloodiest combats in the Indian history of New England. 

It is a small pond, embosomed amid slightly elevated hills, 
and with thickly wooded shores. It contains two or three 
islands, and the quiet stillness of its waters but little reminds 
you of the terrible encounter which once took place upon its 
- borders. 

Throughout the year 1T24 the Indians had been more 
than commonly bold and savage. The more exposed settle¬ 
ments were in constant alarm and excitement, from their 
almost daily depredations and barbarous massacres. The 
Massachusetts General Court, startled by the sad reports 
which were continually being brought to them, had passed 
a bill, offering a bounty of <£100 for every Indian’s scalp. 

Dunstable, one of the border towns of Massachusetts, was 
much exposed, and had suffered greatly from the attacks of 
the Indians. In September of this year, the Indians had 
carried away two men, and killed nine of the ten men who 
had gone out in search of the missing ones. Far well, who 
afterward accompanied Love well on his expedition to Fry- 
burg, was the only one of his company of ten who escaped 
with his life. Among the numerous expeditions from this 
town, those commanded by one Captain John Love well seem 
to be the most successful. 

“In December,” succeeding the September above, “he 
made an expedition, with a few followers, to the north-east of 
Winnipiseogee Lake, in which he killed one, and took another 
prisoner. For these he received the bounty offered by govern¬ 
ment.” But the most important excursion that Lovewell 
made, previous to the one to Fryburg, in which lie was 
killed, was that to the head of Salmon Falls river, now 
Wakefield, in New Hampshire, in February, 1725. Of 

18 


206 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


this, Drake says: “With forty men, he came upon a small 
company of ten Indians, who were asleep by their fires, and, 
by stationing his men advantageously, he killed all of them. 
This bloody deed was performed near the shore of a pond, 
which has ever since borne the name of Lovewell’s Pond. 
After taking off their scalps, these forty warriors marched to 
Boston in great triumph, with the ten scalps extended upon 
hoops displayed in the Indian manner, for which they re¬ 
ceived £1000. This exploit was the more lauded, as it was 
supposed that these ten Indians were upon an expedition 
against the English upon the frontiers; having new guns, 
much ammunition, and spare blankets and moccasons, to ac¬ 
commodate captives. This, however, w T as mere conjecture; 
and whether they had killed friends or enemies w T as not 
quite so certain as that they had killed Indians.” 

The last and most memorable expedition, commanded by 
Captain Lovewell, left Dunstable on Friday, April 16th, 
1725, to attack the Pequawket tribe at their home on the 
Saco. He had in his command forty-six men, volunteered 
from the adjoining towns. It was an arduous and perilous 
undertaking; and it has been truly remarked by an old 
writer, that “ to attempt a march of more than one hundred 
miles into the wilderness, where not a friendly hut or civil¬ 
ized inhabitant were to be met with — where savages and 
wolves were ‘ lords of the soil ’ — where 1 dangers prest on 
every side,'* was a desperate adventure, reserved for the 
daring spirit of an intrepid Lovewell. Though he fell in the 
contest, he opened a road into a wide-extended country, rich 
in soil, healthy in climate; and pointed the w T ay to the 
settlement and civilization of this pleasant and populous 
country.” 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 207 

They proceeded up the Merrimack toward Winnipiseogee, 
the direction Lovewell had taken the preceding winter. 
They were but a short distance from Dunstable when Toby 
was suddenly taken sick. He was a valuable member, and 
could hardly be spared. To return, however, and wait his 
recovery, or for him to go on, were equally impossible. He was 
accordingly dismissed, and with great reluctance returned. 
At the mouth of the Contoocook river, near Duston’s Island, 
Mr. William Cummins and a relative of his were dismissed 
and returned. Mr. Cummins had been w T ounded some time 
previous by the Indians, and the long and wearisome march 
had so inflamed the wound as to make it impossible for him 
to proceed. From the grounds of the powerful Pennacook, 
their route lay to the north-east, and the next we learn of them 
is on the shores of Ossipee Pond. Here Mr. Benjamin 
Kidder, of Nutfield, w T as taken sick, and they halted while 
they could construct a shelter for him till their return. They 
built a small fort for “ a retreat in case of emergency, and to 
serve as a deposit of part of their provisions, of which they 
disencumbered themselves before leaving it. 7 ’ Here they left 
the doctor, a sergeant, and seven other men, to take care of 
Kidder. Their company was now reduced to thirty-four; 
all brave men, except one, who, in the language of the Bev. 
Mr. Symmes, “ran from them at the beginning of the en¬ 
gagement, and sneaked back to the fort, and whose name is 
unworthy of being transmitted to posterity.” These are the 
names of those brave fellows, who boldly and successfully 
contended with more than twice their number, viz. : — 

Captain John Lovewell, Lieutenant Josiah Fanvell, Lieu¬ 
tenant Jonathan Robbins, Ensign John Harwood, Sergeant 
Noah Johnson, Robert Usher, Samuel Whiting, all of Dun¬ 
stable. Ensign Seth Wyman, Corporal Thomas Richardson, 


208 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

Timothy Richardson, Ichabod Johnson, Josiah Johnson, all 
of Woburn. Eleazer Davis, Josiah Davis, Josiah Jones, 
David Melvin, Eleazer Melvin, Jacob Farrah, Joseph Farrah, 
all of Concord. Chaplain Jonathan Frye, of Andover. 
Sergeant Jacob Fulham, of Weston. Corporal Edward Ling- 
field, of Nutfield. Jonathan Kittridge, Solomon Kies, of 
Billerica. John Jefts, Daniel Woods, Thomas Woods, John 
Chamberlain, Elias Barron, Isaac Lakin, Joseph Gilson, all 
of Groton. Ebenezer Ayer, Abiel Aston, of Haverhill. 

They were still some forty miles from the Pequawket en¬ 
campment, all the distance through an unbroken wilderness; 
but, rested by their halt at Ossipee, and nerved on by the 
hope of soon meeting the enemy, they commenced the last 
stage of their lengthened march, and reached Saco pond on 
Thursday, May 6th, 1725. They were now in the very 
heart of the hunting-ground of Paugus. Traces of the 
powerful foe they had come out to conquer could be seen on 
. every hand. Indeed, so near did they come in their march on 
Thursday to the settlement of the tribe, that the noise of the 
unseen village made them apprehensive they were discovered 
and dogged. They encamped upon the westerly side of the 
pond, and prepared themselves for an encounter. Thirty- 
four men, fifty miles from any white settlement, in the depth 
of an unbroken wilderness, preparing themselves to encounter 
a warlike enemy of hundreds ! Excited by the near vicin¬ 
ity of the Indians, and undecided what course it was best to 
take in attacking them, they remained at their first stopping- 
place from Thursday night until Saturday morning. Friday 
night they were much alarmed by the stealthy marching of 
large numbers of Indians, as they thought, in their near 
vicinity; but it was very dark, and they could see nothing, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 209 


nor make any further discovery than the hushed footsteps 
of these unseen foes hovering about their camp. 

“ No clattering hoof falls sudden and strong ; 

No trumpet is filled, and no bugle is blown ; 

No banners abroad on the wind are thrown ; 

No shoutings are heard, and no cheerings are given ; 

But they speed, like coursers whose hoofs are shod 
With a silent shoe, from the loosened sod ; 

And away they have gone, with a motionless speed, 

Like demons abroad on some terrible deed. 

The last one lias gone ; they have all disappeared ; 

Their dull echoed trampings no longer are heard ; 

For still, though they passed like no steeds of the earth, 

The fall of their tread gave some hollow sounds birth ; 

Your heart would lie still till it numbered the last, 

And your breath would be held till the rear horseman passed ; 

So swiftly, so mute, so darkly they went. 

Like spectres of air to the sorcerer sent, 

That ye felt their approach, and might guess their intent.” 

Leaving awhile our heroes upon the margin of the pond, 
it may be necessary here to speak of the tortuous windings 
and turnings of the Saco river at this point, and its relation 
to Lovewell’s Pond and Fry burg village, the then head¬ 
quarters of Paugus. With a bold sweep, the Saco changes 
its course, near Chatauque, in Conway, New Hampshire, to 
the north-east, nearly at right angles with its former course. 
It passes in this direction Weston’s Bridge, the rendezvous, 
as we have said, of the Indians, and, continuing on, traverses 
a distance of forty miles, within a space of six miles square, 
now north, now south, now east, now west, till it comes at 
last to Lovewell’s Pond, only one mile and a half from Weston’s 
Bridge. It was the choice hunting-ground, the garden of 
the Pequawkets. Starting from their very door, they could 
sweep round on its current the whole length, filling.their 

18 * 


210 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

boats with game from its well-stocked shores, and, reaching 
at last the pond; could shoulder their canoes, and, ere the 
long “file” should be formed, their chief would be in his 
wigwam. The distance between the pond and their settle¬ 
ment was called a “ carrying-place.” 

It seems that, at the time of which we write, Paugus, with 
eighty of his men, had been scouting down the river, and 
had arrived, on the Saturday morning above referred to, at 
their landing-place on the pond. 

This Saturday morning had dawned none too soon for the 
excited men of Lovewell. All night they had listened 
through the dense darkness to the distant barking of the dogs 
and the silent creeping of the Indians, till they grew eager 
for the light. Breakfasting, they were assembled upon the 
beach for their accustomed morning devotion. 

“ Then were men of worth, 

"Who by their prayers slew thousands, angel like.” 

And their chaplain had scarcely uttered the significant words, 
11 We came out to meet the enemy; we have all along prayed 
God we might find them. We had rather trust Providence 
with our lives, yea, die for our country, than try to return 
without seeing them, if we might, and be called cowards for 
our pains,” when a gun was fired, and they espied an Indian 
on a point of land that ran into the pond on the opposite side 
from them. A hurried consultation was held, and they con¬ 
cluded that the design of the gun and the Indian discov¬ 
ering himself was to draw them that way; but that the 
main body of the enemy was to the north of the pond. 
Clamoring now eagerly to be led forward, the “ Captain 
readily complied, though not without manifesting some ap¬ 
prehensions.” Their march lay along the margin of the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


211 


pond, just glistening in the first rays of the rising sun. 
Near the north-western shore they crossed the Indians’ 
“ carrying-place.” At the north-east end of the pond the 
land rises very gradually to a slight elevation, and then falls 
off again to the north into a thickly-wooded morass, covered 
with high brakes. Here, on this slightly elevated plain, 
where the trees were thin and the brakes small, they divested 
themselves of their packs, and commenced a more cautious 
march. They had gone but a short distance, when 11 Ensign 
Wyman discovered an Indian, who was out hunting, having 
in one hand some fowls he had just killed, and in the other 
two guns.” Immediately a signal was given, and they all 
“squatted.” He came unsuspectingly towards them, and, 
when near enough, “ several guns were fired at him, but 
missed him. Seeing that sure death was his lot, this valiant 
Indian resolved to defend himself to his last breath ; and the 
action was as speedy as the thought. His gun was levelled 
at the English, and Lovewell was mortally wounded. En¬ 
sign Wyman, taking deliberate aim, killed the poor Indian.” 
Mr. Samuel Whitney was also wounded by the shot of the 
Indian. The operation of scalping the Indian was performed 
by the chaplain, Mr. Frye, and another man. From this 
point they commenced their return to where they had left 
their packs. Paugus, as we have said, had arrived with his 
warriors at their landing-place on the shores of the pond; 
and scarcely had Lovewell crossed the “ carrying-place,” in 
search of his foe, when the wily sachem, pursuing the well- 
beaten path to his village, came upon signs of the white 
man’s moccasons. Instantly, the long “file” was hushed, 
and, 

“ With a slow and noiseless footstep,” 

they followed the track. Coming upon the packs, they were 


212 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


counted, and the number of the whites was known. Adopt¬ 
ing their usual mode of warfare, they instantly sprang into 
the morass as an ambush. Thus concealed, they could bring 
their whole force to bear in an instant upon the whites, and, 
by the celerity of the movement, could so surprise them as 
to cause them to surrender at once. This undoubtedly was 
the thought of Paugus. Scarcely had the last brake ceased 
to move above the crouching forms of the Indians, when 
Lovewell and his men came up, and commenced searching for 
their packs. Now is the time; and, springing from the 
thicket, with a horrid yell, the savages fired their guns directly 
over the heads of the whites, and ran towards them with 
ropes, demanding if they would have quarter. 

“ Only at the muzzles of their guns,” replied the intrepid 
Lovewell and his men, and the fight commenced. 

“ Wild and more wild the tumult grew 
Amid the crazed, demoniac crew ; 

Knives flashed, and man to man opposed.” 

Lovewell and his party, seizing the advantage, u rushed 
towards the Indians, fired as they pressed on, and, killing 
many, drove them several rods.” But they soon rallied, and, 
maddened by the unexpected resistance, rushed furiously on, 
killing nine, and wounding three with their first fire. Cap¬ 
tain Lovewell, Mr. Fullam (only son of Major Fullam, of 
Weston), Ensign Harwood, John Jefts, Jonathan Kittridge, 
Daniel Woods, and Josiah Davis, were killed, and Lieuten¬ 
ants Farwell and Bobbins, and Robert Usher, wounded by 
the assault. The English, thus in number reduced, and see¬ 
ing the Indians about to surround them, commenced to 
retreat. It was done in good order, fighting bravely all the 
way, and manfully contesting each inch of ground. Directly 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


218 


back of them was a point of rocks which ran into the pond, 
and a few large pine trees standing on a sandy beach. Here 
they came to a stand. On their right was the mouth of a 
large brook, at this time unfordable ; on their left, this sharp 
ridge of rocks, while the pond guarded them in the rear. 
Here u the fight continued, very furious and obstinate, till 
towards night; the Indians roaring, and yelling, and howl¬ 
ing like wolves, barking like dogs, and making all sorts of 
hideous noises; the English frequently shouting and huz¬ 
zaing, as they did after the first round.” Thus they fought 
from ten in the morning “till the going down of the sun, 
and till but nine of their company remained uninjured. 
Wahwa could lead but twenty Indians uninjured from the 
field; and, though they had the advantage, at sunset they 
fled, leaving the dead unburied. Paugus, the brave chief, 
had been slain, and thirty-nine of his bold followers had 
been killed and wounded. Paugus had been killed in single 
combat, by one Chamberlain, of Groton. Wearied by the 
protracted contest, each had come to opposite sides of the 
brook to quench their thirst and wash their guns, which had 
become foul by so frequent firing. Their guns could almost 
touch, so narrow was the space between them. As they 
washed their guns, conversing familiarly with each other, 
Chamberlain assured Paugus that he should kill him. Pau¬ 
gus returned the threat, and bade him defiance. Carefully 
drying their guns, they commenced loading at the same time. 
Their movements exactly corresponded, and the balls of each 
were heard as they were sent home by the rods at the same 
instant. But the gun of Chamberlain primed itself, and 
Paugus’ did not. Striking the breech upon the ground, it 
primed, and, raising it with deliberate aim, he fired, and 
Paugus fell dead upon the bank, and, as he fell, the well- 


214 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

aimed ball from his rifle passed through the thick locks on 
the top of Chamberlain’s head, but left him unwounded. 

About midnight, it being certain the Indians would not 
renew the contest, the shattered remnant of the brave English 
assembled themselves together to examine into their situation. 
Nine of their company, including their captain, were dead. 
Three were unable to move on account of their wounds; 
eleven, though wounded, thought themselves able to travel. 
Nine remained untouched. 

What now should be done ? To remain in the very centre 
of an enemy’s country, maddened by the loss of their brave 
chief, and destitute of all food, was impossible; but to return, 
they must leave, not only their dead unburied, but their 
wounded companions unprotected, to die by the torture of 
the savages. Farrar, one of the wounded, expired during the 
consultation. Robbins and Usher urged and commanded 
their companions to return, and leave them to their fate. 
“ Lieutenant Robbins even desired his companions to charge 
his gun and leave it with him, which they did, he declaring 
that, ‘ as the Indians will come in the morning to scalp me, I 
will kill one more of them, if I can.’ ” As the moon was 
rising they bade adieu to their companions, and, taking a last 
look of the scene of their dreadful encounter, commenced 
their memorable return. They had gone but a mile and a 
half, when four of the men, Far well, Frye, Davis and Jones, 
declared themselves unable to go on; and, like the brave 
fellows they had already left, they were unwilling to detain 
the company, and desired them to proceed. Their number, 
now reduced to sixteen, they divided into three parties, fear¬ 
ing to make too large a track, by which the Indians might 
pursue them. One of these parties reached the fort at Ossi- 
pee, but found it deserted. “The coward, who fled in the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 215 


beginning of the battle, ran directly to the fort, and gave the 
men posted there such a frightful account of what had happened, 
that they all fled from the fort, and made the best of their 
way home/’ The main party of eleven, leaving the Ossipee 
fort, continued on, and reached Dunstable, May 13th, in the 
night. 

Let us now return to those we have left by the way. One 
Solomon Kies “ had fought in the battle till he received 
three wounds, and had become so weak, by the loss of blood, 
that he could not stand; he crawled up to Ensign Wyman, 
in the heat of the battle, and told him he was a dead man; 
1 but,’ said he, { if it be possible, I will get out of the way 
of the Indians, that they may not get my scalp.’ Kies 
then crept off by the side of the pond, where he providen¬ 
tially found a canoe, when he rolled himself into it, and was 
driven by the wind several miles towards the fort. He 
gained strength fast, and reached the fort as soon as the 
eleven before mentioned; and they all arrived at Dunstable 
on the 13th of May, at night. 

“ On the 15th of May, Ensign Wyman and three others 
arrived at Dunstable. They suffered greatly for want of 
provisions. They informed that they were wholly destitute 
of all kinds of food from Saturday morning till the Wednes¬ 
day following, when they caught two mouse-squirrels, 
which they roasted whole, and found to be a sweet morsel. 
They afterwards killed some partridges and other game, and 
were comfortably supplied till they got home.” 

Farwell and Davis, Frye and Jones, whom we left but a 
short distance from the scene of the encounter, remained 
some time in the helpless condition in which they were left; 
but at length, “ though their wounds were putrefied and 
stank,.and they were almost dead with famine, yet they all 


216 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


travelled on several miles together, till Mr. Frye desired the 
others not to stop on his account, for he found himself dying, 
and he laid himself down, telling them he should never rise 
more; and charged Davis, if it should please God to bring 
him home, to go to his father, and tell him that he expected 
in a few hours to be in eternity, and that he was not afraid 
to die. They left him; and this amiable and promising 
young gentleman, who had the journal of the march in his 
pocket, was not heard of again.” 

He was a young man of a liberal education, who took his 
degree at college in 1723, and was chaplain to the company, 
and greatly beloved by them for his excellent performances 
and good behavior, and who fought with undaunted courage 
till he was mortally wounded. But when he could fight no 
longer, he prayed audibly, several times, for the preser¬ 
vation and success of the residue of the company. 

Jones, being separated from his companions by some acci¬ 
dent, “traversed Saco river, and, after a fatiguing ramble, 
arrived at Saco (now Biddeford), emaciated, and almost 
dead through the loss of blood, the putrefaction of his 
wounds, and the want of food. He was kindly treated by 
the people of Saco, and recovered from his wounds.” 

Farwell and Davis suffered exceedingly from hunger. 
They were entirely destitute of provisions, and subsisted 
upon the spontaneous vegetables of the forest. 1£ Lieutenant 
Farwell held out, on his return, till the eleventh day, during 
which time he had nothing to eat but water and a few roots, 
which he chewed; and by this time, through his body he 
was so mortified, that the worms made a thorough passage. 
On the same day, Davis, who was with him, caught a fish, 
which he broiled, and was greatly refreshed by it; but the 
lieutenant was so much spent that he could not taste a bit. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 217 


Then, at Far well’s earnest entreaties that he would provide 
for his own safety, he left him to his own fate. Previous to 
this, he had taken Farwell’s handkerchief and tied it to the 
top of a bush, that it might afford a mark by which his re¬ 
mains could the more easily be found. After going from 
him a short distance, Farwell called him back, and requested 
to be turned upon the other side. Davis being now alone, 
in a melancholy, desolate state, still made toward the fort, 
and the next day came to it; there he found some pork and 
bread, sustained by w 7 hich, he was enabled to reach Berwick, 
and then Portsmouth, w T here he was carefully provided for, 
and had a skilful surgeon to attend him.” 

Thus ends the battle of Lovewell’s Pond. After the fear 
had subsided, Colonel Tyng, with a small company, went to 
the place of action, and buried the dead. Paugus and a few 
other Indians had been buried. 

Trees perforated by the balls may be seen to this day on 
the shore of the pond ; and the older citizens of Fryburg 
will relate to the visitor the bloody engagement of early 
Pequawket with all the ardor of youth. 

Standing upon the summit of Pequawket Mountain, one 
sees before him the pond, so peacefully glittering in the rays 
of the sun, near the quiet village of Fryburg. But the 
Indians are gone. The bold Paugus no longer raises the 
shrill war-whoop, starting the echoes of the hills, and Wahwa 
no longer leads the scout upon the beautiful windings of the 
Saco. 

« Where is their home, — their forest home ? the proud land of their sires? 

Where stands the wigwam of their pride ? where gleam their council-fires ? 

Where are their fathers’ hallowed graves ? their friends, so light and 
free ? 

Gone, gone, — forever from our view ! Great Spirit ! can it be ? ” 

19 


218 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


The following ballad stanzas were printed originally in the 
work entitled “ Collections, Historical and Miscellaneous, 
and Monthly Literary Journal,” published at Concord, N. H., 
and edited by J. Farmer and J. B. Moore. The author’s 
name is not given; but it is conjectured that they were writ¬ 
ten by a personal friend of the learned and excellent editors, 
who was then young and not much practised in writing, and 
who is said to be still living somewhere in the State of 
Maine : 

“ ’T was Paugus led the Pequot tribe : 

- As runs the fox, would Paugus run ; 

As howls the wild wolf, would he howl ; 

A huge bear-skin had Paugus on. 

But Chamberlain, of Dunstable, 

One whom a savage ne’er shall slay, 

Met Paugus by the water-side, 

And shot him dead upon that day. 

What time the noble Lovewell came, 

With fifty men from Dunstable, 

The cruel Pequot tribe to tame, 

With arms and bloodshed terrible. 

With Lovewell brave John Harwood came ; — 

From wife and babes’t was hard to part ; 

Young Harwood took her by the hand, 

And bound the weeper to his heart. 

* Repress that tear, my Mary dear,’ 

Said Harwood to his loving wife ; 

‘ It tries me hard to leave thee here, 

And seek, in distant woods, the strife. 

‘ When gone, my Mary, think of me, 

And pray to God that I may be 

Such as one ought that lives for thee, 

And come at last in victory.’ 




INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 219 


Thus left young Harwood babe and wife ; 

With accent wild, she bade adieu ; 

It grieved those lovers much to part, 

So fond and fair, so kind and true. 

John Harwood died, all bathed in blood. 
When he had fought till set of day ; 

And many more we may not name 
Fell in that bloody battle fray. 

When news did come to Harwood’s wife, 

That he with Lovewell fought and died, — 
Far in the wilds had given his life, 

Nor more would in his home abide, — 


Such grief did seize upon her mind, 

Such sorrow filled her faithful breast, 

On earth she ne’er found peace again, 

But followed Harwood to his rest. 

Seth Wyman, who in Woburn lived, — 

A marksman he, of courage true, — 

Shot the first Indian whom they saw ; 

Sheer through his heart the bullet flew. 

The savage had been seeking game ; 

Two guns, and eke a knife, he bore, 

And two black ducks were in his hand ; 

He shrieked, and fell, to rise no more. 

Anon, there eighty Indians rose, 

Who hid themselves in ambush dread ; 

Their knives they shook, their guns they aimed — 
The famous Paugus at their head. 


John Lovewell, captain of the band, 

His sword he waved, that glittered bright; 
For the last time he cheered his men, 

And led them onward to the fight. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


« Eight on, fight on ! ’ brave Lovewell said, 

« Fight on, while Heaven shall give you breath 
An Indian ball then pierced him through, 

And Lovewell closed his eyes in death. 


Good Heavens ! is this a time for prayer ? 

Is this a time to worship God, 

When Lovewell’s men are dying fast, 

And Paugus’ tribe hath felt the rod ? 

The chaplain’s name was Jonathan Frye ; 

In Andover his father dwelt; 

And oft with Lovewell’s men he’d prayed, 
Before the mortal wound he felt. 

A man was he of comely form, 

Polished and brave, well learnt and kind ; 

Old Harvai’d’s learned halls he left. 

Far in the wilds a grave to find. 

Ah ! now his blood-red arm he lifts. 

His closing lids he tries to raise, 

And speak once more before he dies, 

In supplication and in praise. 

He prays kind Heaven to grant success, 

Brave Lovewell’s men to guide and bless, 

And when they’ve shed their heart’s blood true, 
To raise them all to happiness. 

‘ Come hither, Farwell,’ said young Frye ; 

‘ You see that I’m about to die ; 

Now for the love I bear to you, 

When cold in death my bones shall lie, 

‘ Go thou and see my parents dear. 

And tell them you stood by me here ; 

Console them when they cry, Alas ! 

And wipe away the falling tear,’ 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 221 


Lieutenant Farwell took his hand, 

His arms around his neck he threw, 

And said, * Brave chaplain, I could wish 
That Heaven had made me die for you. ’ 

The chaplain on kfnd Farwell’s breast, 

Bloody and languishing, he fell; 

Nor after that said more but this, 

* I love thee, soldier ; fare thee well ! ’ 

Good Heavens ! they dance the powwow dance ; 
What horrid yells the forest fill! 

The grim bear crouches in his den, 

The eagle seeks the distant hill. 

* What means this dance, this powwow dance ? ’ 
Stern Wyman said ; with wondrous art 

He crept full near, his ritle aimed, 

And shot the leader through the heart. 


Then did the crimson streams that flowed 
Seem like the waters of a brook, 

That brightly shine, that loudly dash 
Far down the cliffs of Agiochook. 

Ah ! many a wife shall rend her hair, 

And many a child cry, * Woe is me,’ 

When messengers the news shall bear 
Of Lovewell’s dear-bought victory. 

With footsteps low shall travellers go. 

Where Lovewell’s Pond shines clear and bright. 
And mark the place where those are laid, 

Who fell in Lovewell’s bloody fight. 

Old men shall shake their heads, and say, 

‘ Sad was the hour and terrible. 

When Lovewell brave, ’gainst Paugus went. 

With fifty men from Dunstable.’ ” 

19* 


CHAPTER XVI. 


GILEAD. 

SITUATION OF GILEAD. -SOIL.-WILD RIVER.-EARLY SETTLERS.-MINIS¬ 
TERS. -FIRST CHURCH. — SLIDE. — BEARS.-ENCOUNTER OF ONE BEAN.- 

YORK’S WARM RECEPTION BY A BEAR. -OLIVER PEABODY’S LOOSE OX.- 

FAMINE AMONG BEARS.-BEAR AND HOG STORY.-HORRIBLE TRAGEDY. 


“ My wife ! my wife ! What wife ? I have no wife ; 

0, insupportable ! 0, heavy hour ! 

Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse 
Of sun and moon.” 

Gilead, formerly called Peabody’s Patent, took its name 
from a great Balm of Gilead tree, still standing near the 
centre of the town. It lies on both sides of the Androscog¬ 
gin river, which runs through its entire length from east to 
west, the town being six miles long, and three wide. On 
the borders of this river is some of the best land in the 
region, producing very bountiful crops. One form, some 
years since, under the cultivation of a very skilful, indus¬ 
trious farmer, when a premium was offered by the State of 
Maine for the best crop of wheat on a given portion of land, 
secured the premium. Large crops of corn and potatoes 
have been raised on it. Some of the former have equalled 
one hundred bushels to the acre. The more usual crop is 
from forty to sixty bushels. Potatoes have gone up as high 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


223 


as one thousand six hundred bushels to the acre; and one 
man, for a number of years in succession, raised one thou¬ 
sand five hundred bushels to the acre. 

The town is so situated as to escape almost entirely the 
early frosts of autumn. Ranges of high mountains bound 
the valley in which it is situated, completely shutting it in 
on the east and west. A continual current of air is thus 
formed, preserving the crops in the valley and on the hill¬ 
sides, while the frost is busily at work in the adjoining 
towns. Shaggy and rude in the extreme are the mountains 
which so completely Avail in this fertile valley. One has 
remarked that “ the expense of transportation of fuel down 
the mountains, in a slippery time, is very trifling.” 

"Wild river, one of those impetuous mountain streams, 
empties into the Androscoggin in this tOAvn. “It is a child 
of the mountains; at times fierce, impetuous and shadoAvy, 
as the storms that howl around the bald heads of its parents, 
and bearing doAvn everything that comes in its path ; then 
again, when subdued by long summer calms, murmuring 
gently in consonance with the breezy rustle of the trees, 
whose branches depend over it. An hour’s time may sAvell 
it into a headlong torrent; an hour may reduce it to a brook 
that a child might ford without fear.” 

This tOAvn was settled about the time Shelburne Avas, 
aa hose brief history Ave have just given. The settlers came 
generally from Massachusetts and the southern part of New 
Hampshire. They were Thomas Peabody, Capt. Joseph 
Lary, Isaac Adams, Eliphalet Chapman, Capt. Eliphalet 
Burbank, George Burbank, Ephraim and Seth Wight, John 
Mason. Stephen Coffin, and Samuel Wheeler. After this 
soon came Phineas Kimball, Henry Philbrook, Peter Coffin, 
and Joseph Lary, jr. These were all exemplary good men, 


224 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

giving a character of energy to the place. They regarded 
religious institutions, and helped sustain them by their prop¬ 
erty and example. They were a church-going people, always 
attending the worship of God on the Sabbath. 

From the earliest time of its settlement it has enjoyed 
more or less steadily the preaching of the gospel. Before 
any Christian church was planted in it, it had a succession 
of missionaries, sent from different sources, who were instru¬ 
mental of great religious benefit to the people. Among 
these were the Rev. Jotham Sewall, or, as he is often called, 
“ Father Sewall, 5 ’ and the Rev. Samuel Hidden, of Tam- 
worth. 

In 1818, a Congregational church was formed, consisting 
of Melvin Far well and wife, Abraham Burbank and wife, 
Widow Susannah Burbank, Betsey Philbrook, John Mason, 
jr., II. Ingalls, Rhoda Styles, Mary Peabody, and Ephraim 
and Seth Wight. This church, sometimes through its own 
efforts, and sometimes in connection with Shelburne, has had 
preaching most of the time since its formation. Its regularly 
settled pastors have been Rev. Henry White, and Rev. 
Henry Richardson. Besides those, Rev. Daniel Goodhue 
and others have been supplies for different portions of time. 
There is a Methodist church, also, which has been instru¬ 
mental of great religious and moral benefit to the place. 

During the terrible storm of 1826, when my brother’s 
family was destroyed at the Notch, slides also took place on 
many of the mountains around this town. From Picked 
Hill came rushing down thousands of tons of earth, and 
rocks, and trees, and water, destroying all that lay in their 
path. No lives were lost, but the consternation of the 
inhabitants was great. The darkness was so intense as 
almost to be felt. The vivid lightnings and long streams of 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 225 


fire, covering the sides of the mountains, caused by the con¬ 
cussion of the rocks, only served to make the darkness more 
visible. Amid the deluge of rain, the terrific crashings of 
the thunder, and, over all, the deafening roar of the descend¬ 
ing slides, it was impossible to make one’s self heard. The 
valley rocked as though an earthquake was shaking the 
earth. The frightful scene did not last long; but, during 
its continuance, more terror was crowded into it than during 
an ordinary lifetime. The inhabitants under these moun¬ 
tains alone can appreciate the awful scene through which my 
brother and his family passed on that terrible night. 

This region has been very much infested with bears, 
especially during the summer months. Many live now on 
the mountains, preventing entirely the raising of sheep. 
Though much of the land, especially on the mountains, is 
well adapted to grazing, still it is never safe to trust sheep 
and young stock far from the settlements. So late as the 
summer of 1852, a most desperate encounter took place 
between one of the farmers in this vicinity and a large black 
bear of the white-face breed — the most savage of that 
variety. 

A Mr. Bean was to work in his field, accompanied by a 
boy twelve years of age. The bear approached him, and 
having his gun with him, charged for partridges, he fired, 
but with little effect. The bear bore down upon him; he 
walked backwards, loading his gun at the same time, when 
his foot caught by a twig, which tripped him up, and the 
bear leaped upon him. He immediately fired again, but 
with no visible effect. The bear at once went to work,— 
seizing his left arm, biting through it, and lacerating it 
severely. While thus amusing himself, he was tearing with 
his fore paws the clothes, and scratching the flesh on the 


226 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

young man’s breast. Having dropped his arm, be opened his 
huge mouth to make a pounce at his face. Then it was that 
the young man made the dash that saved his life. As the 
bear opened his jaws, Bean thrust his lacerated arm down 
the brute’s throat, as far as desperation would enable him. 
There he had him ! The bear could neither retreat nor adr 
vance, though the position of the besieged was anything but 
agreeable. Bean now called upon the lad to come and take 
from his pocket a jack-knife, and open it. The boy marched 
up to the work boldly. Having got the knife, Bean with his 
untrammelled hand cut the bear’s throat from ear to ear, kill¬ 
ing him stone dead, while he lay on his body ! It was judged 
the bear weighed nearly four hundred pounds. One of his 
paws weighed two pounds eleven ounces. 

The earlier annals of this town are full of adventure, 
nearly equalling this in daring and bravery. The older in¬ 
habitants can recall many a scene of thrilling interest which 
took place within sight of their very cabins. 

A man by the name of York, living in the woods, one day 
came rather suddenly upon a full-grown bear. They both 
stopped and looked each other steadily in the face. Neither 
seemed disposed to retreat. The bear bade defiance in her look, 
and York did the same. An encounter seemed unavoidable, 
partly because he dare not retreat now if he might, and 
partly because he had the pluck not to do it if he could. So 
they both addressed themselves to the battle. The bear raised 
herself on her hind feet, standing upright, and spread her 
fore legs to receive her antagonist. York responded by open¬ 
ing his arms, and a close grip succeeded. Then followed a 
struggle for dear life, the issue of which no one could have 
decided but for one circumstance. York had the advantage 
in it from having an open, long-bladed jack-knife in his right 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 227 


hand when it commenced. This, of course, he used in the 
best way he could, not stopping to ask whether it was fair 
or not. Making a little extra exertion on the first good 
opportunity, he drew the blade across the bear’s throat, and 
she relaxed her hold and soon bled to death. The victory 
was his. 

One dark night Mr. Oliver Peabody, living in a log hut, 
was disturbed by his cattle in the hovel near by. Supposing 
that one of them had broken from his fastening, and was 
goring the rest, he arose from his bed, and, with nothing on 
but his night-dress, ran towards the hovel to search out the 
cause of the trouble. As he came to the entrance, which 
was merely a hole in its side, he espied some black creature 
standing just inside, and, thinking it one of his cattle, stepped 
forward a little, and struck it on the rump with a stick he 
had in his hand, crying, “ Hurrup ! hurrup there ! ” The 
creature, deeming this rather a rough salutation, turned 
round, and, with the full force of his huge paw, gave him a 
heavy slap on the side. By this time he began to imagine 
that he was in no very delicate, refined company, and must 
look out for himself. The salutation he received from the 
creature was a little more unceremonious and rude than the 
one he first gave him. He was fully aware, now, that some¬ 
times a person must take blows as well as give them, and 
hard ones, too. Certain it was, he had no disposition to re¬ 
peat his stroke, or his cry of “ Hurrup ! hurrup ! ” and, per¬ 
ceiving that the bear was about to repeat the blow, he sounded 
a retreat, and made haste back to his hut. Whether the 
bear kept his ground, and proceeded to annoy the cattle fur¬ 
ther, we were not informed. 

In the autumn of 1804, it required all the vigilance and 
courage of the inhabitants to preserve their cattle and hogs 


228 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


from the ferocious creatures. The nuts and berries, their usual 
food, had failed them, and, driven on by hunger, the infuriated 
beasts would rush almost into the very houses of the settlers. 
Young hogs were caught and carried off in sight of their 
owners, and within gunshot of their pens. A huge, growl¬ 
ing monster, seized a good-sized hog in his paws, and ran oft* 
with it, standing on his hind legs, satisfying his hunger as 
he went. 

One dark night Mr. Oliver Peabody, the same we have 
spoken of before, was disturbed by the loud squealing of his 
hogs. As unsuspecting as before, he rushed out in his night¬ 
dress to the yard where they were kept, back of his barn. 
Scarcely yet fully awake, he placed his hands upon the top 
rail, and stood peering out into the darkness, shouting lustily 
to whatever might be disturbing his hogs. So intent was he 
on driving away the intruder, that he was conscious of nothing 
until he felt the warm breath of a large bear breathing 
directly in his face. The huge monster had left the hogs on 
his first approach, and, rearing herself on her hind legs, placed 
her paws on the same rail, near his hands, and stood ready 
for the new-year salutation of the Russians — a hug and a 
kiss. Realizing fully his danger, he darted away for his 
house, the bear following close at his heels. He had barely 
time to reach his door, and throw himself against it as a 
fastening, when Madam Bruin came rushing against it. The 
frail thing trembled and squeaked on its wooden hinges, but 
his wife had placed the wooden bar across it, and thus it with¬ 
stood the shock. Opening the door slightly, on the first op¬ 
portunity, he let out his dog. The dog, used to the business, 
seized the bear fiercely by the throat, as she sat on her 
haunches eying the door. Not so easily driven off, however, 
she threw the mastiff with tremendous force against the house, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 229 


and leaping a fence near at hand, sat coolly down. The noble 
dog, as soon as he could recover from the stunning blow, 
again attacked her. With still more force she threw him 
this time against the cabin, displacing some of its smaller 
timbers, near where some of the children were asleep in a 
truckle-bed. Bounding away, she ran some eighty rods, to 
the house of one Stephen Messer, seized a large hog, and 
leaping a fence three feet high with it in her arms, ran thirty 
rods, and sat down to her feast. Before Messrs. Peabody and 
Messer could reach her, she had finished her repast and 
walked slowly off into the woods. 

About the middle of June, 1850, one of the most tragical 
scenes transpired in this town that ever took place in any 
region. Happily the principal actors in it "were not natives 
of the town or region, but foreigners. A contractor on the 
Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, which w r as then being 
constructed through the Androscoggin valley, after burying 
his wife in Bethel, went to board with a Mr. George W. 
Freeman, a blacksmith. This man was in the employ of the 
contractor, helping him build a very expensive bridge over 
Wild river. Mr. Freeman’s family consisted of a wife and 
three children. He had been somewhat remarkable as a kind 
and faithful husband and indulgent parent, and nothing had 
ever occurred to mar the peace of the family until the advent 
of the contractor into it. Mrs. Freeman, young and beauti¬ 
ful, was very attractive in looks and address, but in all re¬ 
spects, heretofore, had shown herself an exemplary woman 
and devoted wife. Freeman, unable to harbor the thought 
of anything wrong in his wife, for a long time passed by many 
things which caused him much uneasiness. The particular 
attentions of the contractor to his wife he tried long and hard 
to construe as only the civilities due from a gentleman to a 

20 


230 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

lady. As each day the attentions became more marked, and 
the evident partiality of the two for each other’s society be¬ 
came more manifest, the loathed suspicion worked itself grad¬ 
ually into the terrible conviction that his companion was 
yielding to the wiles of the seducer. So bold had they be¬ 
come in their course, that scarcely a day passed but they rode 
out together, sometimes extending their rides to late hours in 
the night. At last they went to Bethel, a distance of nine 
miles, to attend a ball, and did not return until near morn¬ 
ing. This fully roused Mr. Freeman from his heretofore 
almost stupid forbearance. He undressed and put his chil¬ 
dren to bed, and then calmly awaited the return of the guilty 
pair. Not in anger, but intensely in earnest, he expostu¬ 
lated with them, warning them of the consequences of their 
guilty course. Passionately he besought his wife to remember 
their hitherto happy life, and spare himself and her babes the 
disgrace and loss of such a companion and a mother. It 
was all, however, to no purpose. 

Shortly after the ball at Bethel, Mrs. Freeman threw off 
all restraint, and asked her husband for a divorce. Her 
affection, she said, for him was gone, and it was better for 
them to separate. She could never again love him as she 
had, and to live with him in her present state of mind was 
unendurable. She not only asked him for divorcement, but 
told him that, with or without it, she should certainly leave 
him. That she was in earnest was clearly manifest. She 
commenced her preparations for a journey, proceeding even 
so far as to pack some of her things. 

The contractor’s office was in Freeman’s house, and his 
clerk was almost constantly employed in it. By chance 
Freeman overheard one day a conversation between his "wife 
and the clerk. She had come for advice, and imagining no 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 231 


opposition from the clerk, disclosed to him her plans. Con¬ 
trary to her expectations, the noble young man reprimanded 
her severely for her conduct, and warmly advised her for her 
good. Freeman heard all, and it confirmed his worst suspi¬ 
cions. 

Previous to these active preparations of Mrs. Freeman for 
her departure, the contractor had left for New York. Before 
leaving, it seems, it had been arranged between them that Mrs. 
Freeman should soon follow to meet at some place yet to be 
agreed upon. Freeman learned these facts but too soon. Not 
long after the contractor had left, a beautiful trunk, marked for 
Mrs. Freeman, was one day left at the door, when Mrs. Free¬ 
man chanced to be out. With a shop-key Freeman opened the 
trunk in his shop, and there full evidence of the intentions of 
the pair was manifest. Beautiful dresses and jewelry for 
herself and children were the contents, and under all a letter 
disclosing the plans. She was to meet the contractor at Syra¬ 
cuse, N. Y. There were minute directions as to the routes to 
travel, and particular caution to fasten the door of her bed¬ 
chamber, at night, in the different hotels. The day for her 
departure was named. He concealed from his wife the trunk 
and letter, and she never probably knew of its arrival. 

The day for Mrs. Freeman’s departure was already fixed, 
and the night preceding her leaving in the morning had ar¬ 
rived. Calmly Freeman sat among his family during the 
evening, and on their retiring had embraced and kissed them 
according to his usual custom. Long he lingered near his wife, 
but at length, bidding her the last good-night, retired to his 
room. They had not slept together for some time, a servant- 
girl occupying the bed with his wife and young child. Still¬ 
ness had settled down upon the house, when suddenly a 
piercing shriek broke upon the night, startling every sleeper 


232 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


from his slumbers. “I am murdered ! I am murdered ! ” 
was all that could be distinguished in the confusion which 
ensued. Each hurried whence the voice proceeded, and there, 
in Mrs. Freeman’s room, weltering in blood, lay the unhappy 
wife, shrieking in paroxysms of terror. She rose up in bed, 
as they entered, the mutilated, bleeding arm hanging at her 
side. Medical assistance was soon at hand, the -wounded 
limb amputated and carefully dressed, but to no effect; from 
loss of blood the murdered woman died but a few hours after. 
A few buckshot were taken from the head. The shattered con¬ 
dition of the arm, and the broken window, made it evident in 
what manner the poor woman had been murdered. Sleeping 
on her side, the murderer had aimed directly at her heart, but, 
missing, had discharged the whole contents of the gun into 
her arm. He had accomplished, however, his purpose as well 
as though he had not missed his aim. 

The murdered wife was conscious who had murdered her. 
Her husband was the only one of the large family who 
gathered not around her bedside at her fearful summons. 
“It was my husband,” were her words. And the full weight 
of her great guilt bursting upon her too late, she could but 
groan and ejaculate, “0, my own dear husband ! And will 
he not come ! 0, George, my husband, shall I not see him, 

to be forgiven ! ” She died, not suspecting that her husband 
was dead, but that he avoided seeing her from grief. Fully 
forgiving him, she died with his name upon her lips. 

But to turn from the sad spectacle of the wife to the still 
sadder sight of her husband. Instant search was made for 
him as the murderer of his wife, and after long hours of 
hunting, about a mile from his house, he was found dead, 
lying in a pool of his own blood. His throat was cut from 
ear to ear, his hand still grasping the fatal razor. By him 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


233 


lay his gun and a piece of rope. The gun, it seems, he had 
tried, but it had not done its work, merely bruising badly one 
cheek. 

A jury of inquest was liolden on his body, and a verdict 
rendered according to facts. On examination of his affairs, 
letters were found, written by his own hand, giving directions 
in regard to his children, and the disposition he wished to be 
made of his property when he was dead. It is supposed, 
from some things in his case, especially one important inci¬ 
dent, that until a late period in his life, he did not intend to 
kill his wife, but the contractor. 

He asked the clerk of the contractor, one day, which side 
of the bed they held in common he, the contractor, slept ? 
giving an occasion by this for an inference that he had some 
design upon him. But the contractor leaving before the 
design could be executed, and determined, as he had declared, 
that the contractor should never enjoy his wife, he made up 
his mind to kill her, and did actually perform the dreadful 
deed we have rehearsed. How strongly this whole affair im¬ 
presses upon us the importance of watching against the first 
emotions of any great sin, and praying earnestly the prayer 
taught us by the Saviour, “ Lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil,” we certainly need not say. There 
bein«r no minister in Gilead at this time, Rev. Mr. Leland, 

o 

of Bethel, attended the funeral on the occasion. He preached 
to a very large concourse of people on the text, “ When lust 
hath conceived it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is 
finished, bringeth forth death.” 

20 * 


CHAPTER XVII. 


segar’s narrative. 

ATTACK ON BETHEL. — SEGAR.-INDIANS.-CAPTURE OF SEGAR AND COM¬ 
PANIONS.-MRS. CLARK.-THE JOURNEY TO CANADA.-PETTENGILL’S 

HOUSE.—HOPE AUSTIN.-CAPT. RINDGE.-MURDER OF POOR. —CLARK’S 

ESCAPE. — ENCAMPMENTS AT NIGHT. - UMBAGOG LAKE. - SUFFERINGS 

FROM HUNGER.-ARRIVAL AT ST. FRANCIS RIVER.-INDIAN DANCE.- 

BRITISH PROTECTION. — RETURN HOME. 


“ With hearts unbent, and spirits brave, 

They sternly bore 

Such toils as meaner souls had quelled.” 

On the third of August, 1781, a party of six Indians from 
Canada, in the employ of British officers, made an attack 
upon Bethel, then Sudbury, Canada, and Shelburne, killing 
three men, and carrying as many more into captivity. It was 
the last of a long series of outrages upon the frontier settle¬ 
ments, commencing with King Philip’s war, and ends the 
bloody Indian history of this region. 

Segar, one of the three men captured, who published an 
account of this surprisal and captivity after his return, and 
whose narrative we have more particularly followed, had early 
removed to Sudbury, Canada, from Massachusetts. He had 
been a soldier in the revolutionary army on the breaking 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 235 


out of war, had retreated from Bunker Hill, and had helped 
to garrison the fort at Ticonderoga. 

With three others he had built a hut, and at the time of his 
capture was residing six miles from any white settlement. 
No danger was apprehended from the Indians. Since the 
decisive victories of Norridgewock and Pequawket, they had 
appeared perfectly subdued, and lived on the most friendly 
terms with their more powerful neighbors. Since the break¬ 
ing out of war there had been some indications of returning 
hostility, but not enough to excite alarm. Frequently they 
had come to the settlements, painted and decorated for war, 
and occasionally, for a moment, assumed their old demeanor 
of insolent brutality; but their generally kind and frank man¬ 
ner quieted all fear, and no one imagined harm. 

On the day above stated Segar and two others, Jonathan 
Clark and Eleazer Twitchell, were at work in the field some 
distance from any house. Suspecting nothing, they were 
entirely unarmed. Suddenly six Indians, headed by one 
Tomhegan, a bold, impudent fellow, well known to the set¬ 
tlers, painted and armed with guns, tomahawks and scalping- 
knives, with a shrill war-whoop, sprang from a piece of woods 
near by, and made captives of the three. 

Having secured their prisoners they marched them to 
Clark’s house, the nearest to the party. Here they bound 
them down, and, with threats of killing them if they attempted 
to escape, commenced plundering the premises. Clark’s wife, 
a courageous, resolute woman, did not admire the operation, 
and determined by stratagem or fight to oppose it. While 
they were filling their bottles with some rum they had found 
in the cellar, she took her husband's valuable watch and hid 
it in the ashes. Some old clothing she allowed them to take, 
without making any objection ; but when they demanded the 


236 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

gold necklace on her neck, she plainly told them they could 
not have it, and summoned all her strength to fight it out. 
In the struggle which ensued, the string broke, the beads 
flew about the floor, and the Indians were never the richer 
by one. Not succeeding in obtaining the beads, they next 
demanded the silver buckles on her shoes; but the undaunted 
woman gave them to understand, in plain words and a shrill 
voice, that her feet and the buckles on them were her own, 
and their safety lay in not meddling with them; and so 
thoroughly were the fellows frightened, that they made no 
more attempts on her. 

While this was going on, her husband and the others were 
quaking with fear that the Indians would become infuriated, 
and kill the whole party together. Says one of the trem¬ 
bling captives: “ My fears were that they would kill her; 
she was very bold towards them, and showed no fears.” 

During the struggle with Mrs. Clark, another Indian 
joined the party with Mr. Benjamin Clark, whom he had 
just taken. Him they secured, and sat down to count their 
gains, and make their arrangements for escaping undetected 
with their prisoners. Twitchell, seeing them thus engaged, 
and somewhat emboldened by the courageous bearing of the 
woman and the timidity of the savages, slipped his fasten¬ 
ings, and left suddenly for the woods, where, hiding himself 
among the logs, he escaped the search made for him. 

The Indians, having determined on their course, packed up 
their plunder into large, heavy bundles, which they fastened 
on the backs of their prisoners. Whether fearing to take 
Mrs. Clark or not, they left her unharmed, simply remark¬ 
ing, as the fearless matron followed her husband to the door, 
that, if she remained in the house, she would not be mo¬ 
lested ; but, if she attempted to follow, she would be killed, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 287 


for there were hundreds of Indians in the woods. Numbers, 
they might have thought, would terrify her, who, if they 
had undertaken to lead her off with them with their present 
forces, would have been quite likely to have turned upon 
them with 

“ Nay, then, 

Do what thou canst, I will not go to-day ; 

No, nor to-morrow, nor till I please myself.” 


It was now late, and they could go but a few miles before 
it would be dark. With heavy hearts the poor men trudged 
on under their heavy burdens, their hands bound closely 
behind them, and their captors continually hurrying their 
speed, fearing their booty might be taken from them. Con¬ 
tinuing on as long as they could see, the darkness at length 
compelled them to halt for the night in the hut of one Peter 
Austin, who, fortunately, chanced to be from home. Here 
they found but little to plunder. Two guns,— one of them 
not good for anything, which they broke to pieces,— and a 
little sugar, were all they could find. 

Tightening the cords with which they were tied until their 
hands were benumbed, they compelled their captives to lie 
down, and, surrounding them, the savages went to sleep. 
Says our narrator : “ Here we spent a gloomy night, which 
none can realize except those who have been in a like con¬ 
dition.” At daylight the Indians were astir, and lading 
their captives for the march. In Gilead, then Peabody’s 
Patent, they stopped at the house of one Pettengill. Pet- 
tenodll himself was not in the house, but some distance from 

o ' 

it, in sight; and, the Indians calling him, he instantly came 
in. They searched the house, as usual, and found sugar and 
some cream in a tub, on which they breakfasted, “ eating 
like hogs,” but gave none to the prisoners. 


238 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


After finishing the repast, they told Pettengill he must 
go with them, and to make himself ready. But he pleaded 
his want of shoes; and fearing, perhaps, resistance, or the 
danger of having too large a number of captives, they left 
him, but strictly charged that he should not leave the house. 
Mrs. Pettengill and the children, remaining quiet, received 
no abuse. 

They had gone but a short distance from the house when 
two of the Indians returned, captured and bound Pettengill, 
and gave him his load among the others. But, for some 
reason, they feared him. They dared not take him with 
them, and they dared not leave him free. But one course 
was left, and, after having proceeded but a little way, they 
killed him on the spot. His wife, a few days after, discov¬ 
ered his body, and friends from Bethel buried it. 

At Shelburne the Indians became greatly alarmed. Ques¬ 
tioning some children, whom they found at play near a small 
brook, concerning the number of men in an adjoining house, 
they replied there were ten, and that they all had guns. 
This so terrified them that they placed all the packs on the 
prisoners, and prepared themselves to take to their heels if 
attacked. The poor fellows, thus loaded down, were ordered 
to cross the Androscoggin river at a place where “ it was 
never forded before or since.” None of the men could 
swim, and how they succeeded in getting over, our narrator 
says he “ cannot imagine.” The fright, however, was 
groundless, as not a man was in the house. At the house 
of Hope Austin, which they passed, they found money, and 
other booty of less value, but left Mrs. Austin unharmed, 
bidding her remain in the house. 

They were now on the very outposts of the scattered fron¬ 
tier settlements. Some miles after leaving the house of 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 239 


Austin, Tomhegan, the instigator of these barbarities, left 
the party, and struck out into a by-path. He had not been 
gone long, when a gun was heard, and, soon after, Tomhegan 
returned wfith a negro, named Plato. He had been lurking 
round the premises of a Capt. Rindge, and, as one Poor and 
Plato were going out to -work, Tomhegan had called to them 
to come to him. Poor, suspecting treachery, turned to run, 
when Tomhegan instantly shot him, and captured the black. 

After learning from Plato that there was no one to fear 
but Capt. Rindge and wife, it was determined to march the 
captives to the house. Rindge was exceedingly terrified. 
He not only submitted patiently to the plundering of the 
savages, but even brought them articles they would never 
have found. Here the poor prisoners fared well. While 
they were eating, the Indians went out and scalped Poor. 
A boy named Ingalls was seized, but, by the persuasion of 
Rindge, was left. 

Having satisfied their cupidity, they started on. Finding 
the number of captives too large to manage safely, they told 
Jonathan Clark he might return, provided he would keep 
the path they had travelled. Suspecting something was 
wrong, after going a short distance out of sight of the 
Indians, he left the path, and struck out into the woods. 
As he afterwards learned, it was the saving of his life; for, 
not long after he had taken the woods, two Indians who had 
been left behind came along the path, and would undoubtedly 
have killed him as a deserter. 

Capt. Rindge’s w T as the last house on the frontier, and an 
unbroken wilderness now lay between them and Canada. 
Shortly after leaving the house, the Indians took a large 
piece of spruce bark, and ordered Segar to write on it, that 


240 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


if they were taken by Americans the prisoners would all be 
killed. This they fastened to a tree. 

At the encampments at night the savages amused them¬ 
selves by their brutal dances. Says our author, of one of 
these scenes: “ During our tarry in this place, we were per¬ 
mitted to sit down and rest ourselves; but they would not 
permit us to sit together. This was a very rocky place. Here 
they took the hair of their scalps in their teeth, and began to 
shake their heads, to whoop, to jump from rock to rock, and 
conducted and acted in such a hideous and awful manner, as 
almost to make our hair stand upright upon our heads, and 
to fill us with fear and trembling. I had heard of an Indian 
powwow; but what tongue can tell, or imagination can 
describe, the looks and actions of these savages on such occa¬ 
sions ? Such scenes are beyond description. Their actions 
are inconceivable. It would seem that Bedlam had broken 
loose, and that hell was in an uproar.” 

After reaching Umbagog Lake, the remaining distance 
was made in canoes, carrying them on their shoulders across 
the carrying-places. During the whole march the captives 
suffered exceedingly from hunger. For days nothing would 
be given them to eat; and, when so worn down that they 
could with difficulty move, old moccasons of moose-skin, 
tainted by the heat, would be broiled, and bits of it given 
them. But once after leaving the settlements until they 
reached the St. Francois river was anything eatable given 
them, and this was moose-meat dried in the smoke. Most 
of this distance, too, they travelled with their hands tied fast 
behind them. 

After reaching the St. Francois they fared better. Fish 
were plenty in these waters, and easily taken. Sturgeon were 
taken in large quantities by torchlight. As they came 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 241 


among the remote settlers, milk frequently was obtained, and 
occasionally, says our narrator, “ we had good bread and 
milk to eat, which was a very luscious dish, and highly pleas¬ 
ing to us, and we ate as much as we wanted . 55 

But a short distance from their village the Indians com¬ 
menced loud demonstrations of rejoicing. As they entered 
the encampment, it was dark; but the Indians made it as 
light as day with their torches. There were seventy Indian 
warriors at this place. “When we came near the shore, an 
Indian clinched me by the arm, and violently pulled me to 
him, swaggering over me as though he would have killed me. 
I was surrounded by the Indians on every side, with terrible 
countenances, and of a strange language which I did not 
understand. At this time there were great rejoicings among 
them over the prisoners, scalps and plunder, which they had 
taken in this nefarious enterprise . 55 

The captives were readily given up to the British officers, 
except Clark. No abuse was offered them amid the wild 
carousal of their captors. Black Plato stood awhile as a 
mark at which they threw firebrands; but, crying lustily, 
was released uninjured. 

Clark had completely taken the fancy of the Indians, or, 
perhaps, of the squaws. They determined on making him 
their chief, and had already “ cut off his hair, painted him, 
and dressed him in an Indian dress , 55 when they were pre¬ 
vailed upon to give him up. A bounty was paid the Indians 
by the British officers of eight dollars for a scalp, or for a 
prisoner. 

“ We were here under guard two days. After this, we 
were given up by the British guard to the Indians, with an 
interpreter, to carry us in their canoes to Montreal. About 
ten Indians took the charge of us. On account of contrary 

21 


242 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


bead winds, we w T ere many days in going up the river St. 
Lawrence. The prisoners were sometimes ordered to march 
by land, with a number of Indians to guard them. When 
we were in the canoes we were not permitted to wear our 
shoes. The canoes, as soon as we were on the land, left the 
shore even before I could pick up my shoes. When the 
Indians came up again, I immediately went for my shoes; 
but I could not find them. I asked for them, but an Indian 
told me they had sold them for pipes. I found some fault 
with them for their conduct; but they told me the king 
would find me shoes. These were the last things they could 
take from me. They had ordered me to give them my shirt 
before, and they gave me an old frock for it without giving 
me any back. I could not help myself, for I was a prisoner, 
and in their power. 

“ We at length arrived at Montreal, and were conducted to 
the commander. There were three of us. They examined 
us, and asked us many questions ; — Where we were taken 
prisoners; how long we had been in the American service, 
and many other like questions. 

“ The Indians requested the commander that they might 
keep Mr. Clark; but he would not grant their request. The 
Indians then took off all the ornaments from him, and every 
rag of clothes, except a very short shirt. They now received 
their bounty money for the prisoners and scalps. They took 
Plato away with them, and sold him to a Frenchman in Can¬ 
ada. Afterwards he was sent back to his old master, Capt. 
Itindge. The rest of us were given up to the British. We 
were ordered to go with a man, who conducted us to the jail, 
and delivered us to the guard, where were ten prisoners, and 
some of them confined in irons. Our situation now was 
truly distressing. We had been so worn down with hunger 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


243 


and a fatiguing journey through the wilderness, and distress¬ 
ing fears in our minds, that we were almost ready to despond. 
Our allowance was not half sufficient for us. In this place 
were multitudes of rats, which would devour the whole 
allowance that was granted to us, and was of itself too small 
for us ; but we took every measure to secure it from the rats. 
The lice which we caught of the Indians were a great annoy¬ 
ance to our bodies. We were, therefore, afflicted on every 
side.” 

After remaining in this situation some forty days, they 
were sent with others to an island, fifty miles up the St. 
Lawrence. Here they remained till the close of the war in 
1782, enduring much from the extreme cold and want of 
food. On the general exchange of prisoners attendant upon 
peace, they were returned to Boston, after suffering sixteen 
months’ captivity. 

“ I tarried at Newton some time to refresh myself, after I 
returned from captivity; and, soon after the peace, I returned 
to Bethel, and have made me a small farm, where I have 
resided ever since, and have reared up a large family. I 
have undergone all the hardships and self-denials which are 
incident to those who are engaged in settling new countries; 
but have lived to see the town rise from a howling wilderness 
into fruitful fields, and in flourishing circumstances, and 
peace and order promoted therein for the rising generations 
and those yet unborn.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

SHELBURNE. 

SITUATION OF SHELBURNE. - MOUNTAINS. - EVENING DRIVE AMONG THE 

MOUNTAINS. — MOUNT MORIAH.-MOSES 5 ROCK.-GRANNY STARBIRD’S 

LEDGE. -WHY SO CALLED. — MINERAL WEALTH OF THIS TOWN.- EARLY 

SETTLERS.— MR. DANIEL INGALLS.- MOSES INGALLS. - KILLING THE 

DEVIL.- ROBERT FLETCHER INGALLS.—SUFFERINGS OF THE EARLY SET¬ 
TLERS. — INDIAN MASSACRE.- TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER WITH WOLVES. - 

THE FAMISHED SOLDIER. 


“ Long since that white-haired ancient slept ; but 
Still ******* 

* * his venerable form again 

Is at my side, his voice is in my ear.” 


This town, situated in Coos County, was "chartered as 
early as the year 1668. It was rechartered by George III., 
King of England, to Mark H. Wentworth and six others. It 
then included what was called Shelburne Addition, now in¬ 
corporated into a town called Gorham. This new charter 
was given in the year 1771, and the towm surveyed by 
Theodore Atkinson the same year. The towm is bounded 
north by Success, east by Maine and Bean’s Purchase, and 
west by Gorham. The population in 1820, when it was 
incorporated, was 205. In 1850 it was 430, indicating a 
fair increase. The Androscoggin river passes through the 
centre of the town, into which fall the waters of Rattle river 



INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 245 


and many smaller streams. The soil on each bank of the 
river is very good, producing in abundance grain and grass; 
but, as we rise from the river, the land becomes mountainous 
and unfit for cultivation. Besides the ranges of mountains 
bordering on the river, many isolated peaks stand within its 
bounds. Mount Moriah, the highest of the several summits, 
lies in the southern part of the town. “It was so named, by 
one of the early settlers of the region, because its shape or 
position coincided with some conception he had formed of its 
Scripture namesake.” A writer in the Boston Transcript 
thus describes the beauty of this and other mountains lying 
within an evening’s drive of the Alpine House, in Gorham : 

“ About six in the evening is the time for a drive. Na¬ 
ture, as Willis charmingly said, pours the wine of her beauty 
twice a day — in the early morning, and the evening when 
the long shadows fall. Here the saying is more literally 
true, not only as to the shadows, but in regard to color. Her 
richest flasks are reserved for the dessert-hour of the day’s 
feast. Then they are bountifully poured. Herr Alexander 
and Wizard Anderson, when they perform the trick of turn¬ 
ing many liquors from one bottle, to an astonished crowd, 
meanly parody the magic of the evening sun shedding over 
these hills the most various juices of light from his single urn. 
Those strong, substantial, twin-majesties, Madison and Jeffer¬ 
son, have a steady preference for a brown-sherry hue; the An¬ 
droscoggin Hills take to the lighter and sparkling yellows, 
hocks and champagne; but the clarets, the red hermitage, and 
the deep purple Burgundies, are reserved for the ridge of Mount 
Moriah. This wine for the eye does not interfere with the 
temperance pledge; and the visual flavor is so delicious, that 
one is eager all through the day for the evening repast.” 

Mount Moriah is much visited by travellers. The view 
21 * 


246 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


from its summit is beautiful and extensive. To the east can 
be seen Umbagog Lake, embosomed amid high hills, the 
highest of which is Saddleback Mountain, and still further 
to the eastward the Blue Mountains in Temple, Bald Moun¬ 
tains in Carthage, Mount Abraham in Kingfield, and be¬ 
yond all Mount Bigelow' in Franklin County. South-east¬ 
erly, when the atmosphere is clear, Portland and the ocean 
beyond may be distinctly seen with a good glass. More to 
the south lie Pleasant Mountain, amid numerous small sheets 
of water, and Lake Winnipiseogee, still further to the right. 
The White Mountains shut in the view on the west. 

Near the centre of the town is a steep, precipitous ledge, 
named Moses’ Bock. It is sixty feet high and ninety long, 
very smooth, and rising in an angle of fifty degrees. Tradi¬ 
tion says that a hunter once drove a moose over the steep 
descent, and his dog, in close pursuit, follow'ed close at his 
heels, both mingling together in one common mass at the foot. 
During the early survey of the town, the best lot of land in 
the township was offered to the man v r ho would climb this 
ledge. One Moses Ingalls, stripping off his shoes, accom¬ 
plished the daring feat, running up its smooth front like a 
cat. This circumstance gave it its name. 

Not far from this ledge is another, called Granny Star- 
bird’s Ledge. An immense boulder, many thousand ton3 in 
weight, a great portion of which has been blown to pieces 
and used on the railroad, formerly rested on a shelf of this 
ledge. Under this large rock an old lady, named Starbird, 
many years ago, took shelter from a heavy, desolating storm 
of rain. On her way, on horseback, to see a sick person, 
being a doctress by profession, she took shelter under this 
rock, one night, as some protection against the storm. The 
ground was too wet to lie down; so, to protect herself and 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 247 


horse from the pelting of the rain, she stood and held him 
by the bridle all night. In this condition, with sleepless 
attention she realized all the terrors of the storm. She saw 
every flash of lightning, heard every peal of thunder that 
broke over her, and keenly felt every gust of the tempest 
that swept by her shallow retreat. Her situation was any¬ 
thing but desirable. She bore, however, her exposure with 
a hardy spirit, and awaited the light of morning with a calm¬ 
ness such as few beside herself could exhibit. At length the 
light of day began to appear, but there was no cessation of 
the storm. This continued in its strength, and the rain fell 
in torrents on the projection of rock over her head. Still 
the wind howled around her. About noon the clouds retired, 
the sun shone out, and she resumed her journey. It is not 
strange that, from such a circumstance, the ledge under which 
she rested that fearful night should ever since bear the name 
of “ Granny Starbird’s Ledge.” 

A lead mine w'as discovered a few years since in the north¬ 
west part of this town, on a hill-side, and in the bed of a 
small mountain rivulet. The ravine is a deep gap in the 
mica-slate rocks which form the principal mass of the moun¬ 
tain, and in this are numerous veins of quartz and brown 
spar, with veins of lead, zinc and copper ore. The veins of 
ore contain much brown spar, or carbonate of lime, and iron 
in the form of rhomboids and in foliated masses. The black 
blende Alls the narrow parts of the vein, and the swells or 
pockets are filled with very pure and heavy masses of the 
argentiferous galena, almost free from the zinc ore. Sixteen 
hundred and eighty grains of this Shelburne lead yield three 
grains of fine silver. 

On a Mr. Burbank’s firm, in this town, where the Andros¬ 
coggin river cuts through the intervales, are large numbers 


248 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

of forest trees buried in the alluvial soil at the depth of from 
ten to twelve feet. The trees project from the bank into the 
river, and are generally found to lie in a nearly horizontal 
position, the tops pointing to the northward. The wood is 
but little altered, and is sufficiently sound to be sawed, many 
of the maples having been dug out and manufactured into 
wheels for wagons. From the magnitude of the stumps of 
trees that are found on the surface, which are estimated to be 
at least two hundred years old, and from the fineness of the 
strata of alluvial matter covering the buried trees, it is evi¬ 
dent that they must have been buried there for a great length 
of time. The prevalence of clay over and around them 
accounts for their not having undergone decomposition; the 
exclusion of air and the prevention of the circulation of 
water having contributed to their preservation. 

Some of the first settlers in the town of Shelburne were 
Hope Austin, Benjamin and Daniel Ingalls. These moved 
into it in the year 1770. In 1772 came Thomas Green 
Wheeler, Nathaniel Porter and Peter Poor, who was after¬ 
wards killed by the Indians. 

In 1780 came Moses Messer, Capt. Jonathan Rindge, Jon¬ 
athan Evans and Simeon Evans, all valuable men, who left 
a good impress on the general character of their posterity. 
One of them was particularly a worthy man, and conspicuous 
in his day for the many moral virtues he exhibited. His 
name was fragrant with piety in all the region about him. 
Mr. Daniel Ingalls was generally known and highly esteemed 
in all the vicinity of the White Mountains. A sense of the 
divine mercy seemed to be ever present with him, whether he 
sat in the house, or walked by the way. In his journeyings, 
he has been heard frequently, on alighting from his horse, 
and while drinking at some spring by the roadside, to ejacu- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


249 


late, “How good the Lord is, to furnish so plentifully this 
refreshing water to drink ! ” He exhibited religion in its best 
light. In his conversation and general deportment he pre¬ 
sented it in a manner to show its real character. lie was 
cheerful, and yet you would very seldom say he verged to 
levity; sober when he should be, and yet seldom seen with 
an aspect of sadness or gloom on his face. He was a man of 
much prayer, and always attached as much importance to the 
duties as he did to the doctrines of religion; as much to 
what commended its practice as he did to its precept. Many 
interesting anecdotes have been told of him in our hearing, 
some of which we shall here relate. He once took a journey 
of considerable length with Col. David Page — a cotemporary 
of his living in Conway. In the course of it they tarried 
together during a night at the house of a friend. On rising, 
the colonel suggested to Mr. Ingalls whether he had not bet- 
ter, that morning, omit family worship, which it was his 
usual practice to perform, and make the most of the day, by 
taking an early start. In his opinion this omission of worship 
would be best, because in the time required to perform it they 
might catch their horses, and be ready the sooner to start after 
breakfast. To all this Mr. Ingalls, "often called Deacon In¬ 
galls, kindly replied, “ No, colonel, no ! let us worship first.” 
This was enough. The colonel, highly respecting the deacon, 
submitted. They took breakfast, and then had worship, and 
while they worshipped, the horses both came up to the bars 
of the pasture, near the house, and stood there waiting to be 
taken. 

Another slight incident, transpiring after his death, clearly 
shows how Mr. Ingalls was esteemed in his life. His death 
made a deep sensation in the region where he'was known, 
and that was widely extended. At Conway the news was 


250 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


received by all with sadnes3. Said a man in this town, as 
the news was announced to him in the field where he was at 
work with others, “ How straight Deacon Ingalls went up to 
heaven when he died ! ” and, pointing upward with his ex¬ 
tended arm, he continued, “ No eagle ever went up straighter 
into the sky than he did when he breathed his last breath. 
This very serious appearance and language was the more 
noticeable, because previous to this he had generally been a 
very rude man, and seemed often to take pleasure in annoying 
the deacon with infidel cavils. 

Moses and Robert Fletcher Ingalls, the two eldest sons of 
Deacon Ingalls, came to Shelburne soon after their father. 
They were both valuable men, yet quite different in their 
general characteristics. Their days were spent near each other, 
in the discharge of mutual kindnesses, and still you would 
seldom see two brothers more unlike. Moses was quick and 
irritable naturally, while Fletcher was more cool and even in 
his disposition. Moses was all life and energy in whatever 
he undertook — a grand pioneer for a new country. No hard¬ 
ships or discouragements seemed, in the least, to repress his 
energies. He was bold to a proverb, as his ascent of the 
ledge called by his name fully proves. Nor were his wit and 
shrewdness less than his courage. He was especially fond of 
hunting moose and bears. 

One Sabbath morning, unknown to his father, he joined his 
companions and started on a hunt. They followed down the 
Androscoggin a few miles, when they espied a large moose 
in the river eating water-grass. Ingalls gave him a shot. 
The moose escaped, as they supposed, uninjured. On his 
return home, being asked by his father where he had been, 
he replied that he had been out hunting, seen a moose, and 
had a shot at him, but did not kill him. To this his father 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 251 


replied, with false discretion we think, “ No, Moses ! that was 
the devil you shot at, instead of a moose. How dare you so 
break the Sabbath ? ” Some few days after this, Moses, pass¬ 
ing down the river, found the moose dead, killed by the shot 
he had given him the previous Sabbath. Returning home, 
with exultation marked on his countenance, he said, “ Father, 
the devil is dead!” — “ What do you say?” replied his 
father. “ Why, Moses, what do you mean ? ” — “ Mean, 
father! ” said he in return, u mean, why I mean as I said, 
the devil is dead. You said the creature I shot at the other 
day was the devil, and, if so, he is dead, because I have just 
found the creature I know to be the one I shot at, and he is 
dead enough.” Long after that the report went, Moses shot 
the devil. 

Robert Fletcher Ingalls, familiarly called 11 Uncle 
Fletcher,” to whom we have already referred as the younger 
brother of Moses, resided, all his days, in the first framed 
house ever built in Shelburne. This house is still standing, 
owned by his son-in-law, Barker Burbank, Esq. Some of 
the boards on it, still to be seen, were cut with a whip-saw, 
an instrument much used in early times. 

In his youth, this Mr. Ingalls was very mirthful, but 
afterwards became more manly and serious in his deportment. 
He was respected, by all that knew him, as a man of genuine 
piety and Christian benevolence. He aimed at all times, and 
everywhere, to be doing good. To the cause of temperance, 
especially, he was an early and ardent friend. The first 
temperance meeting, we think, ever had under the shadow of 
these mountains, was under his direction and appointment. 
Among the various means he took to stay the evil, was the 
formation of a body, called the “ Cold Water Army,” 
designed to embrace especially the youth of both sexes in 


252 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


that region. By dint of much effort, he brought most of 
these in town, under fifteen years of age. into it. He regarded 
it as a sort of child in his old age, and spared no toil in labor¬ 
ing for its extension and prosperity. On the fourth of July, 
the year before his death, in a procession formed for celebrat¬ 
ing the day, he was put at the head of his army and marched 
to the meeting-house to listen to an oration. After the ora¬ 
tion, by request, he addressed the young soldiers of the army. 
And it was an address, as we have been told, worth hearing; 
kind, instructive and pathetic. Scarcely an eye in the 
assembly was free from tears when the old man sat down. 

Among many impressive counsels and expostulations, he 
uttered on this occasion, these were a few: “I charge you,” 
turning himself to the parents of the children, and the citizens 
of the town, “ I charge you, in the name of Heaven, to bring 
up these children right. Train them in the good way of 
temperance and sobriety; guard them from evil as you would 
the most precious jewels put into your hands.” He spoke in 
this way till there was not an unfeeling heart in the assembly. 
And now he is dead we may suppose he is still speaking to 
- some of the survivors of that tearful assembly through the 
sweet and clear recollections of his looks and words. 

The history of Shelburne is strikingly diversified with 
scenes of toil and hardships endured by its early settlers. 
Mr. Hope Austin with his family, consisting of a wife and 
three children, moved into this town April 1st, 1781. At 
that time there was five feet of snow on the ground. All the 
way from Bethel they waded through this depth of snow, 
occasionally going on the ice of the Androscoggin river, along 
which their path lay. The furniture was drawn by Mr. 
Austin and two hired men, on hand-sleds. Mrs. Austin went 
on foot, carrying her youngest child, nine months old, in her 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 253 


arms, with Judith the eldest girl, six years of age, and little 
James, then four years, trudging by her side. They went, 
in this way, at least twelve miles to their place of residence. 
When they arrived at their new home, they found simply the 
walls of a cabin without floor or roof. To make a shelter 
from the rains and snows, they cut poles and laid them across 
the walls to serve as the support of a roof. On these they 
laid rough shingles covering a space large enough for a bed. 
With no more covering on its roof, and with only some 
shingles nailed together and put into one of the sides for a 
door, they lived till the next June. 

Then they covered all its w T all3, and gave it an entire roof. 
For something to shelter their cow, they dug a large square 
hole in the snow, down to the ground, and covered it over 
with poles and boughs. This served as a house till the snow 
went off, and then the poor cow needed no shelter but the 
open heavens. Thus they lived quietly and happily, if not 
very comfortably, till August, the time of the Indian mas¬ 
sacre. 

An account of this has been given, in part, in the narrative 
of the captivity of Nathaniel Segar. What was omitted by 
him, not coming under his observation, we shall here give. 
Segar tells us that a party of Indians from the woods, painted 
and armed with tomahawks, came upon him and some others 
while in a field at Bethel, bound them, and after plundering 
the house and making a rude assault upon the wife of one of 
the prisoners, started them off, saying they were prisoners 
and must go to Canada. The first halt they made was at 
Gilead, where they killed and scalped Mr. James Pettengill. 
After this they crossed the Androscoggin with these pris¬ 
oners, and went to the house of Hope Austin in Shelburne. 

Here they searched for plunder. Mr. Austin being away 


254 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


from home, they told his wife to remain in the house, and 
she should not be hurt. Hurrying on, they went to the 
house of Capt. Rindge, further up the river. Here they 
killed and scalped Peter Poor, and took Plato, the colored 
man, prisoner. So far Segar, in his narrative, has traced 
their course, though much more minutely in its various de¬ 
tails. Now, leaving him to pass on his way to Canada with 
the Indians, we shall take up those parts of the sad scene 
which he did not witness. Hope Austin, who was at Capt. 
Rindge’s at the time the Indians and their prisoners went into 
his own house, when they approached Capt. Rindge’s, after 
seeing Poor killed, and Plato taken prisoner, fled immediately 
across the Androscoggin. Following down this river a mile 
or two, he came to the house of Mr. Daniel Ingalls. Here 
he found his three children. His wife had been here, brought 
over the river in a boat by Mr. Ingalls, but had just gone 
back to her house on an important errand. The children 
came, one with a Mrs. Wentworth, who waded the river with 
it in her arms, and the other two in the boat with their 
mother. Mrs. Austin had gone back to her house just before 
her husband came, in company with Mrs. Wentworth, to get 
some meal and bring it to Ingalls’, she having more of that 
article than any other one in the vicinity. Very soon after 
Austin arrived at Mr. Ingalls’, most of the neighbors came 
hurrying in, excited by the news of the sad aflair that had 
just taken place near Rindge’s house. 

Mrs. Austin and Mrs. Wentworth not returning so soon as 
they were expected, the whole company crossed the river and 
went to Mr. Austin’s house. Here they found them making 
all haste to gather the meal and return to Mr. Ingalls’. But 
after consulting awhile, and reflecting that there might be 
danger in all the houses, they concluded to take the meal 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


255 


and some maple sugar, and go to the top of a mountain near 
by, and spend the night. They did this, and, after ascending 
its precipitous side, spent the night on the summit, in full 
hearing of the whoopings and shoutings of the Indians. From 
this circumstance the mountain has since been called “ Hark 
Hill.” 

Finding, on their return from this mountain the following 
morning, that there were signs of Indians still in the neigh¬ 
borhood, they fled to Fryburg, all the way through the 
forest, fifty-nine miles from Shelburne. Here they remained 
till the danger was passed. Then again they sought their 
home in the wilderness. The season being unpropitious, the 
return company, numbering about twelve persons, old and 
young, made their way back through many hardships and 
sufferings. It was March, and a large quantity of snow was 
on the ground. Their journey about half accomplished, they 
encountered a terrible storm of rain. The men were com¬ 
pelled to stand out in the open air, and buffet its force through 
one whole night, while the w T omen and children were protected 
from it only by ticks of beds drawn over poles. These 
exposures they endured with noble courage, and at length 
reached the end of their journey. 

One of the most terrible encounters with wolves ever put 
on record is said to have taken place in this towm. A Mr. 
Austin, returning home on a time with his team, overtook an 
Indian, bent almost double with the heavy pack on his back. 
Kindly he offered the Indian a ride, which the weary man 
gladly accepted. During the ride, Austin asked the Indian 
his name. He replied, somewhat facetiously, that John 
Peter or Peter John suited him, just which it pleased the 
fancies of others to call him. At the junction of two roads 
they separated, the Indian shouldering again his heavy load, 


250 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

and going in an opposite direction to the team. After leav¬ 
ing Mr. Austin, a pack of famished wolves attacked the poor 
Indian with all the fury of starvation. How long the battle 
lasted we know not, nor how many remained of the hung- y 
pack to devour the Indian; hut when the spot was visited 
not long after, seven carcasses of huge wolves lay beside the 
clothes and bones of their slayer. Seven of the monsters he 
had slain ere he himself yielded the struggle. 

Leaving the Atlantic and St. Lawrence railroad at Straf¬ 
ford, and following up the Connecticut river to the boundary 
between New Hampshire and Canada, you come to a little 
river, one of the tributaries of the Connecticut, called 
“ Hall's Stream.” On its bank a poor soldier named Hall 
was drowned. The starved man dragged his skeleton body 
to the bank of the stream to drink. His head hung over a 
little descent, and, unable to raise it, he drowned, the water 
playing with his long hair when he was found. 

At the time of the deplorable situation of the American 
army near Quebec, especially after the fall of the lamented 
Montgomery, the commander in the unsuccessful attack upon 
it, things became so distressing, that desertion among the 
famished soldiers was deemed almost a virtue. Twelve of 
them made their appearance in Shelburne in the autumn of 
1776. They were first discovered by a negro in the employ¬ 
ment of Capt. Itindge, who succeeded, after much persuasion, 
in inducing them to follow him to the house of his master. 
Here, so far exhausted were they with hunger, that they 
required the strictest attention in order to be kept alive. 

As soon as they were sufficiently recruited, they gave an 
account of the scenes through which they had passed. They 
told how they succeeded in getting away from the army near 
Quebec. They followed the course of the Chaudiere river 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


257 


for a long distance, till at length they crossed the high lands 

and came to the Magallaway river, down which they passed 

to its confluence with Clear Stream, at a place called Enrol. 

Here they left one of their number, too feeble to follow them 

any further. On receiving this information, Capt. Rindge 

immediately prepared himself with provisions and other things 

necessary for a journey in the wilderness, and started in 
% 

quest of the soldier left behind. He took with him Moses 
Ingalls, to whom we have already referred, then a young 
man about twenty years of age. With great speed and toil 
they pursued their course till they came to the place desig¬ 
nated by the soldiers in Shelburne as the one where they left 
their Hinting comrade. After looking round, they soon found 
him. He had moved but little from the spot where he had 
been left. He lay nearly across his gun, with his long hair 
in the water, dead. They buried him on the shore of the 
stream, and, as a memorial of the poor fellow, changed the 
name of the little river from Clear to “ Hall's Stream.” 

22 * 




. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

GORHAM. 

WHITE MOUNTAIN INDIANS. — COL. CLARK. -MOLLY OCKETT.-PEOLSUS- 

UP.-INDIAN ELOQUENCE. — GORHAM.- INFLUENCE OF THE RAILROAD 

UPON IT.—ALPINE HOUSE.—GLEN HOUSE.— MOUNT WASHINGTON ROAD. 

-CARRIAGES.-BUILDING OF THE “ SUMMIT HOUSE.”-WEATHER ON THE 

SUMMIT IN MAY.- ORIGIN OF PEABODY RIVER. — WONDERFUL ENDUR¬ 

ANCE OF COLD. 

• 

A few things remain jet to be said concerning the White 
Mountain Indians. Amid the obscurity and uncertainty 
which shroud the many traditions respecting them, we think 
the following facts to be authentic. During the last years of 
the American Revolution, the northern Indians seem to have 
determined to make a final struggle for their hunting-grounds 
and home, and Pennacook, or Rumford Falls, in Maine, was 
selected as the scene of their resistance to white encroachments. 
No general battle was fought, but after committing many 
murders and barbarities on the settlers, and greatly annoying 
them, they retired, forgetting their revenge in the sad and 
weak condition of their tribe. One Tom Hegan, whom we 
have before mentioned, was particularly active in waylaying 
and killing the whites. He figures conspicuously in all the 
cruel Indian stories of this region. Sometimes in the employ 
of the British, and sometimes impelled onward by his own 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


259 


deep hatred, he was very bold, and bloody, and barbarous, 
and for a long time a terror to the settlers. 

A Col. Clark, of Boston, had been in the habit of visiting 
annually the White Mountains, and trading for furs. He 
had thus become acquainted with all the settlers and many 
of the Indians. He was much esteemed for his honesty, and 
his visits were looked forward to with much interest. Tom 
Hegan had formed the design of killing him, and, contrary 
to his usual shrewdness, had disclosed his plans to some of 
his companions. One of them, in a drunken spree, told the 
secret to Molly Ockett, a squaw who had been converted to 
Christianity, and was much loved and respected by the whites. 
She determined to save Clark’s life. To do it, she must 
traverse a wilderness of many miles to his camp. But 
nothing daunted the courageous and faithful woman. Setting 
out early in the evening of the intended massacre, she reached 
Clark's camp just in season for him to escape. Tom Hegan 
had already killed two of Clark’s companions, encamped a 
mile or two from him. He made good his escape, with his 
noble preserver, to the settlements. Col. Clark’s gratitude 
knew no bounds. In every way he sought to reward the 
kind squaw for the noble act she had performed. For a long 
time she resisted all his attempts to repay her, until at last, 
overcome by his earnest entreaties and the difficulty of sustain¬ 
ing herself in her old age, she became an inmate of his fam- 
ily, in Boston. For a year she bore, with a martyr’s endur¬ 
ance, the restraints of civilized life; but at length she could 
do it no longer. She must die, she said, in the great forest, 
amid the trees, the companions of her youth. Devotedly 
pious, she sighed for the woods, where, under the clear blue 
sky, she might pray to God as she had when first converted. 
Clark saw her distress, and built her a wigwam on the Falls 


260 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

of the Pennacook, and there supported her the remainder of 
her days. Often did he visit her, bringing the necessary 
provision for her sustenance. 

It is the tragical end of this same Tom Ilegan, we think, 
which is so commonly remembered by many of the old inhab¬ 
itants in Maine, even to this day. “He was tied upon a 
horse, with spurs on his heels, in such a manner that the 
spurs continually goaded the animal. When the horse was 
set at liberty, he ran furiously through an orchard, and the 
craggy limbs of the trees tore him to pieces/’ 

A daughter of this Molly Ockett married one Peol Susup, 
we think the one who was afterwards tried for murder at 
Castine. This Peol Susup was a Penobscot Indian ; but the 
northern and eastern tribes freely intermarried, we believe. 
“ All the tribes between the Saco and the St. John, both in¬ 
clusive, are brothers.” 

As a specimen of Indian oratory, the speech of John 
Neptune, the chief of the tribe, at the trial of Susup, may 
not be uninteresting. “ The case was nearly as follows : — 
On the evening of the 28th of June, 1816, this Indian was 
intoxicated, and at the tavern of one Knight, at Bangor 
(whether he had procured liquor there with which to intoxi¬ 
cate himself, we are not informed) ; and being noisy and tur¬ 
bulent, Knight endeavored to expel him from his house. 
Having thrust him out of doors, he endeavored to drive him 
away, and in the attempt was stabbed, and immediately died. 
On his arrest, Susup acknowledged his guilt, but said he was 
in liquor, and that Knight abused him, or he had not done 
it. Being brought to trial in June, the next year, at Cas¬ 
tine, by advice of counsel he pleaded not guilty; and, after a 
day spent in his trial, a verdict was rendered according to 
the defence set up, manslaughter. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


261 


u After the sentence was declared, Susup was asked by the 
court if he had anything to say for himself; to which he 
replied, £ John Neptune will speak for me.’ Neptune rose 
up, and, having advanced towards the judges, deliberately 
said, in English: 

“ ‘ You Enow your people do my Indians great deal wrong. 
They abuse them very much, —yes, they murder them. 
Then they walk right off; nobody touches them. This 
makes my heart burn. Well, then, my Indians say, “We 
will go kill your very bad and wicked men.” No, I tell ’em, 
never do that thing — we are brothers. Some time ago, a 
very bad man about Boston shot an Indian dead. Your 
people said, surely he should die ; but it was not so. In the 
great prison-house he eats and lives to this day. Certainly 
he never dies for killing Indian. My brother say let that 
bloody man go free — Peol Susup too. So we wish. Hope 
fills the hearts of us all. Peace is good. These my In¬ 
dians love it well. They smile under its shade. The white 
men and red men must be always friends. The Great Spirit 
is our father. I speak what I feel.’ 

“ Susup was sentenced to another year’s imprisonment, 
and required to find sureties for keeping the peace two years 
in the penal sum of five hundred dollars, when John Nep¬ 
tune, Squire Jo Merry Neptune, of his own tribe, Captain 
Solmond, from Passamaquoddy, and Captain Jo Tomer, 
from the river St. John, became his sureties in the cogni¬ 
zance ” 

Gorham is a rough, unproductive township, lying on the 
northerly base of the mountains. It was formerly called 
Shelburne Addition ; but was incorporated by its present 
name, June 18th, 1836. Numerous streams descend from 
the mountains, through this town, into the Androscoggin, 


262 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


The opening of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad brought 
this little town out from the greatest obscurity, and it has 
become one of the great resorts for the travelling community. 
Its peculiarly favorable situation for viewing the mountains 
was never known, until travellers, posting through its borders 
for other destinations, were compelled to admire its beauties. 

Immediately on the completion of the railroad to this 
point, the Alpine House was erected, and the announcement 
made that the cars set passengers down at the very base of 
the White Mountains. People, for a moment, were dumb 
with astonishment. It had never been supposed that there 
was any north or south, or east or west, to these old heights; 
but that every one who visited them must make up his mind 
for a long stage-coach ride through Conway or Littleton, 
and ultimately be set down at the Crawford or Fabyan’s. 
That the cars should actually carry visitors to the base of the 
mountains was something which every one had supposed 
would take place in the far-off future, but not until they 
themselves had ceased to travel; but it was certainly so ; 
and the Alpine House and Gorham had become familiar 
words to travellers. 

The Alpine House is a large hotel, owned by the railroad 
company. It is some distance from the base of the moun¬ 
tains, which are seldom ascended from this point; but for 
quiet and comfort, and beautiful drives, it is surpassed by no 
house at the mountains. A beautiful little village has sprung 
up around it, consisting mostly of buildings owned by the 
company. The post-office is kept here, and the telegraph 
affords an excellent opportunity to business men to visit the 
mountains, and attend to their business at the same time. 
Mount Moriah, Randolph Hill, Berlin Falls, and Lary’s, 
should all be visited before the traveller takes his departure. 


















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MT .) FfFERSON AND ADAMS FROM THF. GLEN HOUSE 

















INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


263 


The Glen House is seven miles from the Alpine House, in 
the valley of the Peabody river, immediately under Mount 
Washington, and in the midst of the loftiest summits in the 
whole mountain district. The house is situated in Bellows’ 
Clearing, which contains about a hundred acres. For a base 
view of the mountains, no spot could be selected so good. 
Several huge mountains show themselves proudly to view, in 
front of the piazza, nothing intervening to obscure their giant 
forms. “ You see them before you in all their noble, calm 
and silent grandeur, severally seeming the repose of power and 
strength. On the left is the mountain bearing the worthiest 
name our country ever gave us. Toward the right of its 
rock-crowned summit rise, in full view, the celebrated peaks 
of Adams and Jefferson — the one pointed, the other rounded. 
On both wings of these towering summits are the tops of 
lesser elevations. In an opposite direction, fronting the 
1 patriot group,’ of gigantic forms, is the long, irregular 
rise of Carter Mountains.” 

The carriage road to the summit of Mount Washington 
starts from this point. We have described this road in a 
previous chapter, but find the following additional facts in a 
late Boston paper. Such a gigantic enterprise cannot be too 
often referred to. “ The Mount Washington Road Company 
are now pushing on the work of grading up the mountain, 
as rapidly as possible. Between two and three miles are fin¬ 
ished, and the whole is to be completed this fall. The car¬ 
riages, of which we have just seen a model, are to be of 
omnibus form, each to hold twelve persons. The vehicles 
are to be drawn by four horses. The passengers will not sit 
facing each other, nor facing the front, but half way between 
these two positions. A separate seat is arranged for each 


264 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


passenger, and each carriage has only twelve seats inside. 
The body of the carriage is so arranged as to be raised in 
front in ascending, and in the rear in descending the moun¬ 
tains, so as to always keep the body on a level. The brake 
is so applied to the wheels as to insure perfect safety, being 
operated much in the same w~ay as railroad-car brakes. 
The only difference is, that these are moved by the feet of 
the driver instead of his hands. A safety-strap passes up 
into the carriage, and, by a ring lying on the bottom, the 
motion of the horses may be arrested by any one of the pas¬ 
sengers, if necessary. 

“The carriages are to be built by Downing and Sons, Con¬ 
cord, N. H., and with a view of embodying these improve¬ 
ments, which are all made by D. 0. Macomber, Esq., Presi¬ 
dent of the Road Company, they have constructed the model 
examined by us yesterday. The character of Downing and 
Sons, and their fame as omnibus and carriage builders, is a 
guaranty that the workmanship will be of a superior kind, 
and worthy of the elevated use of the vehicles.” 

The building of the Summit House, on the top of Mount 
Washington, was a noble undertaking. No one but a Yankee 
w r ould ever have thought of building a house where hereto¬ 
fore men had hardly been able, on account of the cold, and 
wind, and storms, to remain long enough to obtain a satisfac¬ 
tory view of what surrounded them. The bold ‘thought, we 
believe, is due to Joseph S. Hall, who was a guide from the 
Notch House for many years, and who saw the necessity of 
a shelter at the summit. 

Mr. Hall disclosed his plans to a Mr. Rosebrook, a brother 
farmer of Jefferson, and together they determined to under¬ 
take the task. No one surely owned the top of Mount 
Washington; no one ever thought of owning it, save one 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


265 


Nazro. a moon-mad Jew, who sought to establish tolls around 
the summit, and himself sat down to collect the fees. But to 
make all sure, a lawyer was employed to search the records 
at Concord, and it was fully ascertained that the State of 
New Hampshire had never granted to any one the acre of 
solid rock which crowned Mount Washington. J. M. Thomp¬ 
son, Esq., the landlord of the Glen House, granted them for 
a small compensation the use of his bridle-path, over which 
to transport their material; and the first day of June, 1852, 
they broke ground, or rather rock, for their house, and, the 
twenty-fifth day of July, sat down to dinner in it, with the 
outside completed. The state of the atmosphere on the 
summit, during these early months, may be imagined from an 
account of an ascent made in the month of May, the 9th 
instant, this year, 1855. 

u The second and third miles we found the snow from two 
to four feet deep, and with sufficient crust for snow-shoeing. 
At the old 1 half-way camp, J we left our snow-shoes, and pro¬ 
ceeded on an icy crust, so solid that a heel stamp would 
scarcely dent it. All the high mountain streams are yet 
fettered by the strong chain of winter, and in several places 
we were compelled to cut stepping-places in the ice with our 
hatchets, that we might advance. In this manner we at last 
arrived at the foot of the highest crag, when, trumpeted along 
by the deafening roar of high wintry wind, a frost-cloud 
came over us, and shrouded us in white. We found our 
houses yet firmly resisting the destructive power that freely 
moves around them in this exposed latitude; and after much 
difficulty succeeded in entering the Tip-Top house by a back 
window. The doors and windows of both houses were securely 
covered with a glistening crust of thick frost, and against the 
doors snow was banked up so solid, that even with a good axe 

23 


266 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


and spade, I think we could not have lived to cut away an 
entrance, with the wind and sleet so strong against us. I 
can say truly, that, entering as w r e did on one side sheltered 
by rocks from the wind, we were compelled to make constant 
and active exertion to keep from freezing, with thick gloves 
and heavy outside coats. In short, we went prepared with 
a thorough winter dress.” 

A camp was built about half way up the mountain, in the 
small growth of spruce and pine, which was to be their 
home while building the house. Several tough, scrubby 
mountain horses and pack-saddles were purchased, and a 
number of stout, able-bodied men were hired. Thus pre¬ 
pared, they at length commenced operations. - A few com¬ 
menced blasting heavy blocks of stone from the solid 
mountain itself, and laying up the walls of the house. A 
few were employed down at the camp in hewing timbers and 
riving shingles, and the remainder brought up from the valley 
below, on their own shoulders, and on the horses, boards and 
u jixins ” for the finishing. Those on the summit could 
work but a few hours during the day, and some days not 
any. Occasionally, clouds of sleet and snow would come 
drifting over the summit, so frosty and biting, that the 
utmost exertion could only save them from being thoroughly 
numbed. Their only safety then was in fleeing to their 
camp. Thus whole days would be spent in going to and 
from their work. Around the summit it would appear all 
clear and comfortable, and up they would go to their labor. 
Hardly would they be fairly commenced, when some sudden 
storm would come upon them, and down they would be forced 
to go to their shelter. Seldom more than two or three con¬ 
secutive hours could they work at once. The house was 
located under the lee of the highest rock on Mount Wash- 










SUMMIT HOUSE 




























































































































































































































INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 267 


ington, and was laid out forty feet long, and twenty-two feet 
wide. The walls were four feet thick, laid in cement, and 
every stone had to be raised to its place by muscular strength 
alone. 

While these were laying the walls, the material for finish¬ 
ing and furnishing were being dragged up from the Glen 
House, a distance of six miles. Lime, boards, nails, shingles, 
timbers, furniture, crockery, bedding and stoves, all had to 
be brought up by piecemeal on the men’s or horses’ backs. 
No one ever went up without taking something — a chair, 
or door, or piece of crockery. Four boards (about sixty 
feet) could be carried up at once on a horse’s back, and, 
but one trip could be made daily. Mr. Rosebrook, a young 
giajit, carried up at one time a door of the usual length, 
three feet wide, three and one half inches thick, ten pounds 
of pork, and one gallon of molasses. 

The walls were raised eight feet high, and to these the 
roof was fastened by strong iron bolts ; while over the whole 
structure were passed strong cables, fastened to the solid 
mountain itself. The inside was thrown, primitive fashion, 
into one room, in which the beds were arranged, berth-like, 
for the most part on one side of the room, in two tiers, with 
curtains in front. A table, capable of seating thirty or 
forty persons, ran lengthwise of the room. At one end of 
the room a cooking-stove and the other furniture of a 
kitchen were placed, with a curtain between it and the table. 
At the other end was a small stove, in which was burned 
mountain moss. The walls are perfectly rough, outside and 
in; a little plaster upon the inside merely fills up the chinks. 
The house trembles and creaks in the gale, but stands strong. 
Says one : u The Summit House is quite as good a place as 
a ‘ cottage chamber,’ wherein to listen to the strain, 


268 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


‘ Which is played upon the shingles, 

By the patter of the rain.’ 

“ It seems like the times of bygone days, when we used 
to sleep in a chamber with nothing overhead but the humble 
roof. 

* Every tinkle on the shingles 
Has an echo on the heart, 

And a thousand dreary fancies 
Into busy being start, 

And a thousand recollections 

Weave their bright hues into woof. 

As I listen to the patter 

Of the soft rain on the roof.’ ” 

“The father of Oliver Peabody, who resided at Andover, 
Mass., in one of his excursions into New Hampshire, met 
with an adventure, which has connected his name with the 
geography of the country, and which, for that reason, as well 
as for its singularity, may perhaps with propriety be men¬ 
tioned here. He was passing the night in the cabin of an 
Indian, situated on the side of a mountain, in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Saco river. The inmates of this rude dwelling were 
awakened in the course of the night by a loud noise, and had 
scarcely time to make their escape, before their hut was swept 
away by a torrent of water rushing impetuously down the 
hill. On reconnoitring the ground, they found that this 
torrent had burst out suddenly from a spot where there was 
no spring before. It has continued flowing ever since, and 
forms the branch of the Saco which bears the name of Pea¬ 
body’s river.” 

A late number of the State of Maine contains the fol¬ 
lowing narrative, which it almost curdles one’s blood to read. 
We were in Shelburne, at the time it transpired, collecting 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


269 


materials for our work, and saw ourselves young Goulding, 
who was at the hotel under the care of a physician. Who 
besides these men would not have yielded to death in such an 
extremity ? 

“ On January 81st, Nathaniel Copp, son of Hayes D. 
Copp, of Pinkham’s Grant, near the Glen House, White 
Mountains, commenced hunting deer, and was out four suc¬ 
cessive days. On the fifth day, he left again for a deer killed 
the day previously, about eight miles from home. He dragged 
the deer (weighing two hundred and thirty pounds) home 
through the snow, and at one o'clock, P. M., started for 
another one discovered near the place where the former was 
killed, which he followed until he lost the track, about dark. 
He then found he had lost his own way, and should, in all 
probability, be obliged to spend the night in the woods, the 
thermometer at the time ranging from thirty-two to thirty- 
four degrees below zero. 

“ Despair being no part of his composition, with perfect 
self-possession and presence of mind, he commenced walking, 
having no provisions, matches, or even a hatchet; knowing 
that to remain epaiet was certain death. He soon after heard 
a deer, and, pursuing him by moonlight, overtook him, leaped 
upon his back, and cut his throat. He then dressed him, 
and, taking out the heart, placed it in his pocket for a trophy. 
He continued walking twenty-one hours, and the next day, 
at about ten o’clock, A. M., lie came out at or near Wild 
river, in Gilead, in Maine; having walked on snow-shoes the 
unparalleled distance of forty miles without rest, a part of the 
time through an intricate growth of underbrush. 

“ His friends at home becoming alarmed at his prolonged 
absence, and the intensity of the cold, three of them started 
in pursuit of him, viz., John Goulding, Mr. Hayes D. 

23 * 


270 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

Copp, his father, and Thomas Culbane. They followed his 
track, until it was lost in darkness, and, by the aid of dogs, 
found the deer which young Copp had killed and dressed. 
They then built a fire, and waited five or six hours for the 
moon to rise, to enable them to continue their search. They 
again started, with but the faintest hopes of ever finding the 
lost one alive; pursued his track, and, being out twenty-six 
hours in the intense cold, found the young man of whom they 
were in search. 

“ Goulding froze both his feet so badly that it is feared he 
will have to suffer amputation. Mr. Copp and Mr. Culbane 
froze their ears badly. No words can reward the heroic self- 
denial and fortitude with which these men continued an almost 
hopeless search, when every moment expecting to find the 
stiffened corpse of their friend. 

“Young Copp seems not to have realized the great danger 
he has passed through, and, although his medical advisers 
say he cannot entirely recover the use of his limbs for from 
three to six months, talks with perfect coolness of taking 
part in hunts which he planned for the next week.” 


CHAPTER XX. 


ALBANY, FRANCONIA, AND BETHLEHEM. 

DRAKE’S VERSION OF CIIOCORUA’s CURSE. — POPULAR LEGEND CONNECTED 

WITH THIS CURSE. -CAUSE OF THE DISEASE AMONG CATTLE IN ALBANY. 

-REMEDY FOR THE DISEASE.-BEAVERS.-MILITARY INCIDENT.-FRAN¬ 
CONIA.— IRON MINE.-EXTENT OF THE MINE.-KNIGHT’S MOOSE STORY. 

-VILLAGE OF BETHLEHEM. -VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS FROM BETHLE¬ 
HEM. -EARLY SETTLEMENT.-FIRST ROAD TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS 

FROM BETHLEHEM.-EXPEDIENT TO KEEP FROM FREEZING.-FIRST TOWN 

MEETING.-BUILDING BRIDGE OVER AMMONOOSUCK.-SCARCITY OF PRO¬ 

VISION.— EXTREMITY TO WHICH INHABITANTS WERE DRIVEN. — BETHLE¬ 
HEM OF THE PRESENT DAY. 


“ What a rich, sonorous word, by the way, that ‘ Chocorua ’ is ! To n?y 
ears it suggests the wildness, freshness and loneliness, of the great hills. 
It always brings with it the sigh of the wind through mountain pines.” 

We have given in another place what Drake, the author 
of the “ History of North American Indians,” considers the 
correct account of Chocorua’s curse. There is, however, a 
beautiful story connected with it, whether true or not we 
cannot say, which should not be passed over unnoticed. 

A small colony of hardy pioneers had settled at the base 
of this mountain. Intelligent, independent men, impatient 
of restraint, they had shunned the more thickly-settled por¬ 
tions of the country, and retired into this remote part of 
New Hampshire. “But there was one master-spirit among 



272 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

them who was capable of a higher destiny than he ever ful¬ 
filled. 

£; The consciousness of this had stamped something of proud 
humility on the face of Cornelius Campbell,— something of 
a haughty spirit, strongly curbed by circumstances he could 
not control, and at which he seemed to murmur. He assumed 
no superiority; but, unconsciously, he threw around him the 
spell of intellect, and his companions felt, they knew not 
why, that he was 1 among them, but not of them.’ His 
stature was gigantic, and he had the bold, quick tread of one 
who had wandered frequently and fearlessly among the ter¬ 
rible hiding-places of nature. His voice was harsh, but his 
whole countenance possessed singular capabilities for tender¬ 
ness of expression; and sometimes, under the gentle influence 
of domestic excitement, his hard features would be rapidly 
lighted up, seeming like the sunshine flying over the shaded 
fields in an April day. 

“His companion was one calculated to excite and retain the 
deep, strong energies of manly love. She had possessed ex¬ 
traordinary beauty, and had, in the full maturity of an 
excellent judgment, relinquished several splendid alliances, 
and incurred her father’s displeasure, for the sake of Cor¬ 
nelius Campbell. Had political circumstances proved favor¬ 
able, his talents and ambition would unquestionably have 
worked out a path to emolument and fame; but he had been 
a zealous and active enemy of the Stuarts, and the restora¬ 
tion of Charles II. was the death-warrant of his hopes. 
Immediately flight became necessary, and America was the 
chosen place of refuge. His adherence to Cromwell's party 
was not occasioned by religious sympathy, but by political 
views too liberal and philosophical for the state of the peo¬ 
ple ; therefore, Cornelius Campbell sought a home with our 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


273 


forefathers, and, being of a proud nature, he withdrew with 
his family to the solitary place we have mentioned. 

“ A very small settlement in such a remote place was, of 
course, subject to inconvenience and occasional suffering. 
From the Indians they received neither injury nor insult. 
No cause of quarrel had ever arisen; and, although their 
frequent visits were sometimes troublesome, they never had 
given indications of jealousy or malice. Chocorua was a 
prophet among them, and, as such, an object of peculiar 
respect. He had a mind which education and motive would 
have nerved with giant strength; but, growing up in savage 
freedom, it wasted itself in dark, fierce, ungovernable pas¬ 
sions. There was something fearful in the quiet haughtiness 
of his lips ; it seemed so like slumbering power—too proud to 
be lightly roused, and too implacable to sleep again. In his 
small, black, fiery eye, expression lay coiled up like a beau¬ 
tiful snake. The white people knew that his hatred would 
be terrible; but they had never provoked it, and even the 
children became too much accustomed to him to fear him. 

“ Chocorua had a son, nine or ten years old, to whom Car¬ 
oline Campbell had occasionally made such gaudy presents 
as were likely to attract his savage fancy. This won the 
child’s affections, so that he became a familiar visitant, almost 
an inmate, of their dwelling; and, being unrestrained by the 
courtesies of civilized life, he would inspect everything, and 
taste of everything which came in his way. Some poison, 
prepared for a mischievous fox, which had long troubled the 
little settlement, was discovered and drunk by the Indian boy, 
and he went home to his father to sicken and die. From that 
moment jealousy and hatred took possession of Chocorua’s 
soul. He never told his suspicions; he brooded over them 


274 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


in secret, to nourish the deadly revenge he contemplated 
against Cornelius Campbell. 

“ The story of Indian animosity is always the same. Cor¬ 
nelius Campbell left his hut for the fields early one bright, 
balmy morning in June. Still a lover, though ten years a 
husband, his last look was turned towards his wife, answer¬ 
ing her parting smile; his last action a kiss for each of his 
children. When he returned to dinner, they were dead—• 
all dead ! and their disfigured bodies too cruelly showed that 
an Indian's hand had done the work! 

‘‘In such a mind grief, like all other emotions, was tempest¬ 
uous. Home had been to him the only verdant spot in the 
desert of life. In his wife and children he had garnered up 
all his heart; and now that they were torn from him, the 
remembrance of their love clung to him like the death-grap¬ 
ple of a drowning man, sinking him down, down, into dark¬ 
ness and death. This was followed by a calm a thousand 
times more terrible — the creeping agony of despair, that 
brings with it no power of resistance. 

‘ It was as if the dead could feel 
The icy worm around him steal.’ 

“ Such, for many days, was the state of Cornelius Camp¬ 
bell. Those who knew and reverenced him feared that the 
spark of reason was forever extinguished. But it rekindled 
again, and with it came a wild, demoniac spirit of revenge. 
The death-groan of Chocorua would make him smile in his 
dreams; and, when he waked, death seemed too pitiful a 
vengeance for the anguish that was eating into his very soul. 

“ Chocorua's brethren were absent on a bunting expedition 
at the time he committed the murder, and those who watched 
his movements observed that he frequently climbed the high 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 275 


precipice, which afterwards took his name, probably looking 
out for indications of their return. Here Cornelius Camp¬ 
bell resolved to effect his deadly purpose. A party was 
formed, under his guidance, to cut off all chance of retreat, 
and the dark-minded prophet was to be hunted like a wild 
beast to his lair. 

££ The morning sun had scarce cleared away the fogs, when 
Chocorua started at a loud voice from beneath the precipice, 
commanding him to throw himself into the deep abyss below. 
He knew the voice of his enemy, and replied, -with an In¬ 
dian’s calmness, £ The Great Spirit gave life to Chocorua, 
and Chocorua will not throw it away at the command of the 
white man.’ £ Then hear the Great Spirit speak in the 
white man’s thunder ! ’ exclaimed Cornelius Campbell, as 
he pointed his gun to the precipice. Chocorua, though fierce 
and fearless as a panther, had never overcome his dread of 
fire-arms. He placed his hands upon his ears, to shut out 
the stunning report; the next moment the blood bubbled 
from his neck, and he reeled fearfully on the edge of the 
precipice. But he recovered himself, and, raising himself on 
his hand, he spoke in a loud voice, that grew more terrific as 
its huskiness increased, £ A curse upon ye, white men! 
May the Great Spirit curse ye when he speaks in the clouds, 
and his words are fire ! Chocorua had a son, and ye killed 
him while the sky looked bright! Lightning blast your 
crops ! Winds and fire destroy your dwellings ! The Evil 
Spirit breathe death upon your cattle ! Your graves lie in 
the war-path of the Indian! Panthers howl and wolves fat¬ 
ten over your bones ! Chocorua goes to the Great Spirit,— 
his curse stays with the white man ! ’ 

££ The prophet sunk upon the ground, still uttering inaudible 
curses, and they left his bones to whiten in the sun. But 


276 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


his curse rested on that settlement. The tomahawk and 
scalping-knife were busy among them ; the winds tore up 
trees, and hurled them at their dwellings; their crops were 
blasted, their cattle died, and sickness came upon their 
strongest men. At last the remnant of them departed from 
the fatal spot to mingle with more populous and prosperous 
colonies. Cornelius Campbell became a hermit, seldom 
seeking or seeing his fellow-men ; and two years after he was 
found dead in his hut.” 

This disease among cattle at one time excited considerable 
interest among scientific men. Prof. Dana, of Dartmouth 
College, was appointed, in 1821, to visit the town of Burton, 
now Albany, and learn, if he could, the cause of the disease. 
After much investigation he found the difficulty to be in the 
water. It was a weak solution of muriate of lime. He 
recommended as a remedy or preventive weak ley , or ashes , 
or soap-suds. A certain kind of mud : however, had been 
discovered by the citizens, which was used with great benefit. 
“ This mud is found on a meadow, and, during the summer, 
it is collected for use; it is made into balls as large as an 
ordinary potato, and forced down the animal’s throat; by it 
the tonic effect of the muriate of lime is prevented, and the 
bowels are kept lax. I visited the spot where the mud is 
procured. A spring issues from the place, and the water 
brings with it a grayish-white matter, which is deposited in 
the rill leading from the spring. This whitish substance is 
the matter in question. After being heated to redness, it 
becomes snow-white; when digested in an acid, a slight 
effervescence occurs, a portion is dissolved, and the remainder 
has the character of fine, white, siliceous sand ; the portion 
dissolved in the acid was found by appropriate tests to be 
carbonate of lime .” 


INCIDENTS IN AY HITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 277 

Albany was much frequented by the Indians for the ex¬ 
cellent hunting which it afforded. Its many streams abounded 
in otter and beaver, after they had begun to disappear in 
many of their old resorts. The beaver ever retires before 
the advance of civilization. Of the hundreds of ponds and 
dams which they had reared on these mountain streams, 
many of which were still existing in our boyhood, scarcely 
one now is to be found. Traces of their dams and houses 
are occasionally to be seen, but the ingenious builders are 
gone. The Indian considered them rich game, and hunted 
them as unsparingly as the whites, and still they seem to 
accompany the one in his wanderings, and shun the other. 
Our clattering mills and destruction of the forests are more 
unpleasant to them than the wild war-whoop and tomahawk 
of the Indian. A traveller thus remarks on the peculiar 
attractiveness of their young: “ A gentleman long resident 
in this country espied five young beavers sporting in the 
water, leaping upon the trunk of a tree, pushing one another 
off, and playing a thousand interesting tricks. He approached 
softly, under cover of the bushes, and prepared to fire on the 
unsuspecting creatures ; but a nearer approach discovered to 
him such a similitude between their gestures and the infantile 
caresses of his own children, that he threw aside his gun.” 

The population of this town was, for many years, very 
small. The superstitious fear of the Indian’s curse, perhaps, 
— certainly the difficulty of keeping cattle,— kept its number 
of inhabitants much reduced. The soil is fertile, and along 
its streams are beautiful intervales, which, since the discovery 
of a remedy for the disease, are fast beginning to be occu¬ 
pied. A most amusing incident is told of one Farnham in 
the first legal meeting of its citizens. Warrants had been 
sent out for a “May training.” Every soldier in tow T n had 

24 


278 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


assembled. Officers were chosen, and, after the choice, come 
to form the company, it consisted of only one private. 
11 Looking wistfully upon his superiors, standing in terrible 
array before him, he said : ‘ Gentlemen, I have one request 
to make; that is, as I am the only soldier, I hope your honors 
will not be too severe in drilling me, but will spare me a little, 
as I may be needed another time.’ He could form a solid 
column, he said, ‘ but it racked him shockingly to display.’ ” 

The objects of interest at Franconia we have described in a 
previous chapter. The town was granted, under the name 
of Morristown, in the year 1764, to Edward Searle and 
others. Permanent settlement was made in 1774 by Capt. 
Artemas Knight, Lemuel Barnett, Zebedee Applebee, and 
others. The town owes its rise and prosperity to the discovery 
of iron ore in its vicinity. There are two establishments for 
working it in town. The lower works are situated on the 
south branch of the Ammonoosuc river, and are owned by the 
New Hampshire Iron Factory Company. Their establish¬ 
ment is very extensive, consisting of a blast furnace, erected 
in 1808, an air furnace, a forge and trip-hammer shop. The 
ore is obtained from a mountain in the east part of Lisbon, 
three miles from the furnace, and is considered the richest in 
the United States, yielding from fifty-six to sixty-three per 
cent. 

The vein has been opened and wrought forty rods in length 
and one hundred and forty-four feet in depth. The ore is 
blasted out. The mine is wrought open to daylight, and is 
but partially covered to keep out the rain. The first miners, 
ignorant of any other means of discovering the veins than 
such as the pickaxe afforded, wasted much labor and expense 
in fruitless search. At one place they cut a gulley one 
hundred and twenty feet long into the solid granite; and at 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 279 


another there is a similar cut, seventy-one feet in length. 
Many curious and remarkable caverns have thus been formed 
in the rocky hill-side. 

Numerous interesting minerals have been brought to light, 
and may be found among the rejected masses which have 
been thrown out. The most interesting and abundant are a 
deep brownish-red manganesian garnet, crystallized and gran¬ 
ular epidote, prismatic and bladed crystals of hornblende. 

Artemas Knight, whom we have mentioned as one of the 
first settlers of the town, during a severe famine which pre¬ 
vailed in its early history, one bleak December’s day, shoul¬ 
dered his gun, and made his way through the deep snow to 
Round Meadows in Button Woods, a distance of ten miles or 
more. On his way he forded Gale’s river, a tributary of the 
Ammonoosuc, his wet clothes almost instantly freezing as he 
came out of the water. The water was quite deep, and he 
was nearly in the same condition as though he had swam the 
stream. At Round Meadows he killed a moose weighing over 
four hundred pounds, skinned it with his jack-knife, cut it up 
with his hatchet, buried three quarters in the snow, and with 
the fourth on his back, returning to his hut in Franconia, 
again fording Gale’s river, and reached home in the evening 
of the same day. 

The village of Bethlehem is about seventeen miles west of 
the Notch of the White Mountains, on the road to Franconia 
and Littleton. The road here passes over a broad, undulat¬ 
ing hill, in an open and airy situation, which gives the trav¬ 
eller an opportunity to admire, at his leisure, the view of the 
range of the White Mountains, the finest and most satisfactory 
to be anywhere seen. Mount Washington is here brought 
into its true place in the centre of the chain, and takes the 
precedence which belongs to its greatly superior breadth and 


280 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


height. The mountains on each side are well arranged in 
their proper and subordinate situations ; the pointed peaks of 
Adams, Jefferson and Clay, contrasting finely with the 
smoother and flatter summits of Monroe, Franklin, Pleasant 
and Clinton. 

Jonas Warren, Nathaniel Snow, Nathan Wheeler and 
others, made a permanent settlement in Bethlehem in 1790. 
It was then known by the name of “ Lord’s Hill.” Like the 
early settlers of all these towns, privations, sufferings and 
hardship, were their daily Jot. Now their cattle would wan¬ 
der away and be lost in the broad pasture in which they 
roamed, requiring days and sometimes weeks to find them. 
Without carts or carriages of any kind, they performed all 
their labor, piling the bags of corn upon the steers’ backs, and 
marching them through the rough forest twenty-five miles to 
mill, when meal in the settlement got low. Capt. Rose- 
brook, not long after the settlement of the town, projected a 
road and with others cut out a decent path from his own lone 
hut in Nash and Sawyer's location, to his neighbors on Lord's 
Hill. A log bridge was built over the Ammonoosuc, but did 
not withstand long the many sudden rises of the rapid 
stream. 

The settlers of this town were hardy, persevering men, more 
nearly resembling Capt. Rosebrook than any we have before 
met. To help out their small stock of provisions a party went 
at one time to Whitefield ponds for fish. On their return in 
the night a thick fog arose, completely hiding the trees which 
they followed as their guides, and, ere they were aware, they 
were lost. The cold was intense ; they had no fire-arms, and 
life hung on their devising some method to keep themselves 
warm. Cutting down long, slender trees, they trimmed them, 
and, placing them across a log, with a man at each end. they 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 281 


commenced rapidly pushing them back and forwards, as men 
do a “ cross-cut' ’ saw. Diligently they plied their toothless 
saws all the night, working as only men work for their lives. 

Lord's Hill was incorporated into a town by the name of 
Bethlehem, December 25th, 1799, and the first town-meeting 
was held in the house of Amos Wheeler. The following year 
the town voted to raise four dollars to defray town charges, 
twenty-four dollars for schooling, and sixty dollars for bridges 
and highways. In April of the same year the project of build¬ 
ing a bridge over the Ammonoosuc was started, and the fol¬ 
lowing month the town voted, in town-meeting convened, to 
build the bridge, and raised three hundred and ninety dollars 
to do it with. So scarce was provision during the construc¬ 
tion of this bridge, that all the poor laborers, working in the 
water all day, had to eat was milk-porridge, carried to them 
hot by their wives. Eight cents were allowed per hour to 
the men for their services, and six cents for a yoke of oxen. 

So great was the famine at this time that the citizens were 
obliged to desist from their labors, go into the woods, and cut 
and burn wood sufficient to make ashe3 enough to load a team 
of four oxen with potash. This load of potash they dispatched 
with a teamster to Concord, Mass., a distance of one hundred 
and seventy miles. It was four weeks ere the teamster re¬ 
turned with provisions. During his absence they saved them¬ 
selves from starvation only by cooking green chocolate roots 
and such other plants as would yield them any nourishment. 

The little settlement of early times is now a flourishing 
village. Two beautiful churches send their spires up to 
heaven from its midst. Five large mills for sawing lumber 
are in constant operation, and a large factory manufactures 
yearly one hundred and forty tons of starch, requiring thirty- 
three thousand bushels of potatoes. 

24 * 


CHAPTER XXI. 


GEOLOGY. 

INDIAN THEORY OP THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.-INDIAN IDEA OF THE 

CREATION OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS.-DR. JACKSON’S THEORY.-SIR 

CHARLES LYELL’S THEORY. 

The rude Indian’s idea of the creation of this world, with 
its hills and mountains, and the formation of the fearful 
Agiocochook, and the theories of scientific scholars concern¬ 
ing the origin and history of these mountains, we may be 
pardoned for placing in the same chapter. 

“ Water at first overspread the face of the world, which i3 
a plain surface. At the top of the water a musk-rat was 
swimming about in different directions. At length he con¬ 
cluded to dive to the bottom, to see what he could find on 
which to subsist; but he found nothing but mud, a little of 
which he brought in his mouth, and placed it on the surface 
of the water, where it remained. He then went for more 
mud, and placed it with that already brought up ; and thus 
he continued his operations until he had formed a consider¬ 
able hillock. This land increased by degrees, until it over¬ 
spread a large part of the world, which assumed at length its 
present form. The earth, in process of time, became peopled 
in every part, and remained in this condition for many years. 
Afterward a fire run over it all, and destroyed every human 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 283 


being except one man and one woman. They saved them¬ 
selves by going into a deep cave, in a large mountain, where 
they remained for several days, until the fire was extin¬ 
guished. They then came forth from their hiding-place, and 
from these two persons the whole earth has been peopled.” 

ORIGIN OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 

u Cold storms were in the northern wilderness, and a lone 
red hunter wandered without food, chilled by the frozen 
wind. He lost his strength, and could find no game; and 
the dark cloud that covered his life-path made him weary of 
wandering. He fell down upon the snow, and a dream car¬ 
ried him to a wide happy valley, filled with musical streams, 
where singing-birds and game were plenty. His spirit cried 
aloud for joy ; and the ‘ Great Master of life ’ waked him 
from his sleep, gave him a dry coal and a flint-pointed 
spear, telling him that by the shore of the lake he might 
live, and find fish with his spear, and fire from his dry coal. 
One night, when he had laid down his coal, and seen a warm 
fire spring therefrom, with a blinding smoke, a loud voice 
came out of the flame, and a great noise, like thunder, filled 
the air, and there rose up a vast pile of broken rocks. Out 
of the cloud resting upon the top came numerous streams, 
dancing down, foaming cold; and the voice spake to the 
astonished red hunter, saying, 4 Here the Great Spirit trill 
dir ell , and watch over his favorite children ! ’ ” 

GEOLOGICAL. 

Dr. Jackson, in his report of New Hampshire, thus speaks 
of the White Mountains : — 


284 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


“ The White Mountains are the centre of a most interest¬ 
ing geological section. If a measure is applied to a correct 
map of the Northern and Middle States, taking the White 
Mountains for a centre, and measuring south-west and north¬ 
east, it will be noticed that the secondary rocks are nearly 
equi-distant from this centre of elevation, on each side of the 
axis, and the beds and included fossils will correspond in a 
remarkable manner, indicating that when the strata were 
horizontal, they formed a continuous deposit, effected under 
nearly the same conditions. 

“If we estimate the strata of Vermont and Maine as horizon¬ 
tal, by imagining the primary rocks which separate them to be 
removed, and the lines of stratification brought to coincide in 
'direction, it is evident that the whole of New England would 
be regarded as sunk far below the level of the ocean, and a 
space would still remain between the ends of the strata 
where the primary rocks had been removed. Now, since 
the strata were formed when the present rocks were beneath 
the sea, we may suppose the whole of the primary unstrati¬ 
fied rocks to have been below the stratified deposits, and, by 
a sudden outburst and elevation, to have been more or less 
broken up, altered in composition, and included between 
masses of the molten gneis and granite. Thus, we may ac¬ 
count for the loss of a portion of the disrupted strata, while 
we also explain the intercalation of masses of argillaceous 
slate in the primary series, and the metamorphosis of the 
sedimentary deposits by igneous action. A heaving sea 
of molten rocks, probably bearing on its surface the sedi¬ 
mentary strata, elevated, overturned, and effected chemical 
changes in them, the results of which we behold along the 
line of junction of the two classes of rocks. 

“ The reader would be able better to conceive of this state 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 285 


of things, by the contemplation of the breaking np of a vol¬ 
canic crater, or may figure the scene in his mind by imagin¬ 
ing a frozen lake, with successive and thick layers of snow 
and ice, to be broken up by an earthquake, and the whole 
mass suddenly frozen while in the highest state of disturb¬ 
ance. This, however grand the scale, would not give a suf¬ 
ficiently enlarged idea of the vast movements of the earth’s 
crust, nor of the changes which the materials must have un¬ 
dergone in the immense periods of geological time ; for the 
action of a comparatively moderate heat for ages effects 
changes in the position of elementary particles which are 
not duly appreciated. This hypothesis will appear more 
plausible to those who will take the trouble to go over the 
ground from one end of the section to the other, noting the 
changes which are manifested in the order of strata, and 
considering the known causes of chemical action on the in- 
gredients of rocks. It will be observed that the sedimen¬ 
tary deposits have all been disturbed by upheaval, and that 
portions of strata are included in the unstratified rocks, 
showing their posterior eruption, while, in some places, the 
fracturing of strata has been still more remarkable, a com- 
plete breccia being formed with their comminuted fragments, 
and the thick pasty rocks of eruption. 

“ Occasionally, the mechanical power of elevated granite 
is manifested by the complete overturning, or doubling back 
of large sheets of mica slate, and its chemical effects are 
seen in the remarkable induration of the rock along the line 
of junction, those slabs, when not bent, being chosen by the 
quarry men, on account of their superior firmness. 

“ The geological features of Mount Washington possess 
but little interest. The rocks in place consisting of a coarse 
variety of mica slate, passing in gneis, which contains a few 


286 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


crystals of black tourmaline and quartz. The cone of the 
mountain and its summit are covered with myriads of angu¬ 
lar and flat blocks and slabs of mica slate, piled in confusion 
one upon the other. They are identical in nature with the 
rocks in place, and bear no marks of transportation or abra¬ 
sion by the action of water.” 

Sir Charles Lyell, the eminent English geologist, thus 
writes concerning these mountains : — 

11 The flora of the uppermost region of Mount Washington 
consists of species which are natives of the cold climate of 
Labrador, Lapland, Greenland and Siberia, and are impatient, 
says Bigelow, of drought, as well as of both extremes of 
heat and cold; they are, therefore, not at all fitted to flour¬ 
ish in the ordinary climate of New England. But they are 
preserved here, during winter, from injury, by a great depth 
of snow, and the air in summer never attains, at this eleva¬ 
tion, too high a temperature, while the ground below is 
always cool. When the snow melts they shoot up instantly 
with vigor proportioned to the length of time they have been 
dormant, rapidly unfold their flowers, and mature their fruits, 
and run through the whole course of .their vegetation in a 
few weeks, irrigated by clouds and mist. 

'T? *7? 'T? -T? 'T? -T? 'Fr '7? 

“If we attempt to speculate on the manner in which the 
peculiar species of plants now established on the highest 
summits of the White Mountains, were enabled to reach those 
isolated spots, while none of them are met with in the lower 
lands around, or for a great distance to the north, we shall 
find ourselves engaged in trying to solve a philosophical 
problem, which requires the aid, not of botany alone, but of 
geology, or a knowledge of the geographical changes which 
immediately preceded the present state of the earth’s surface. 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 287 

We have to explain how an Arctic flora, consisting of plants 
specifically identical with those which now inhabit lands 
bordering the sea in the extreme north of America, 
Europe, and Asia, could get to the top of Mount Washing¬ 
ton. Now, geology teaches us that the species living at 
present on the earth are older than many parts of our exist¬ 
ing continent; that is to say, they were created before. a 
large part of the existing mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, 
rivers and seas,'were formed. That such must be the case in 
regard to the island of Sicily, I announced my conviction in 
1833, after first returning from that country. And a simi¬ 
lar conclusion is no less obvious to any naturalist who has 
studied the structure of North America, and observed the 
wide area occupied by the modern or glacial deposit 
before alluded to,* in which marine fossil shells of living 
but northern species are entombed. It is clear that a great 
portion of Canada, and the country surrounding the great 
lakes, was submerged beneath the ocean when recent species 
of mollusca flourished, of which the fossil remains occur more 
than five hundred feet above the level of the sea, near Mon¬ 
treal. I have already stated that Lake Champlain was a 
gulf of the sea at that period, that large areas in Maine 
were under water, and I may add that the White Moun¬ 
tains must then have constituted an island, or group of 

islands. Yet, as this period is so modern in the earth’s his- 

\ 

* “ Some of the concretions of fine clay, more or less calcareous, met with 
in New Hampshire, in this ‘ drift ’ on the Saco river, thirty miles to the north 
of Portsmouth, contain the entire skeletons of a fossil fish of the same species 
as one now living in the Northern Seas, called the capetan (Mallotus villosus), 
about the size of a sprat, and sold abundantly in the London market, salted 
and dried like herrings. I obtained some of these fossils, which, like the asso¬ 
ciated shells, show that a colder climate than that now prevailing in this region 
was established in what is termed ‘the glacial period.’” 


288 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

tory as to belong to the epoch of the existing marine fauna, 
it is fair to infer that the Arctic flora now contemporary with 
man was then also established on the globe. 

“A careful study of the present distribution of animals and 
plants over the globe has led nearly all the best naturalists 
to the opinion that each species had its origin in a single 
birthplace, and spread gradually from its original centre to 
all accessible spots fit for its habitation, by means of the 
powers of migration given to it from the first. If we adopt 
this view, or the doctrine of ‘specific centres, 5 there is no 
difficulty in comprehending how the cryptogamous plants of 
Siberia, Lapland, Greenland and Labrador, scaled the heights 
of Mount Washington, because the sporules of the fungi, 
lichens and mosses, may be wafted through the air for indefi¬ 
nite distances, like smoke; and, in fact, heavier particles are 
actually known to have been carried for thousands of miles 
by the wind. But the cause of the occurrence of Arctic 
plants of the phgenogamous class on the top of the New Hamp¬ 
shire mountains, specifically identical with those of remote 
Polar regions, is by no means so obvious. They could not, 
in the present condition of the earth, effect a passage over 
the intervening low lands, because the extreme heat of sum¬ 
mer and cold of winter would be fatal to them. Even if 
they were brought from the northern parts of Asia, Europe 
and America, and thousands of them planted round the foot 
of Mount Washington, they would never be able, in any 
number of years, to make their way to its summit. We 
must suppose, therefore, that originally they extended their 
range in the same way as the flowering plants now inhabiting 
Arctic and Antarctic lands disseminate themselves. The in¬ 
numerable islands in the Polar seas are tenanted by the same 
species of plants, some of which are conveyed as seeds b J 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 289 


animals over the ice when the sea is frozen in winter, or by 
birds; while a still larger number are transported by floating 
icebergs, on which soil containing the seeds of plants may be 
carried in a single year for hundreds of miles. A great body 
of geological evidence lias now been brought together, to 
some of which I have adverted in a former chapter, to show 
that this machinery for scattering plants, as well as for carry¬ 
ing erratic blocks southward, and polishing and grooving the 
floor of the ancient ocean, extended in the western hemi¬ 
sphere to lower latitudes than the White Mountains. When 
these last still constituted islands in a sea chilled by the melt¬ 
ing of floating ice, we may assume that they were covered 
entirely by a flora like that now confined to the uppermost 
or treeless region of the mountains. As the continent grew 
by the slow upheaval of the land, and the islands gained in 
height, and the climate around their base grew milder, the 
Arctic plants would retreat to higher and higher zones, and 
finally occupy an elevated area, which probably had been at 
first, or in the glacial period, always covered with perpetual 
snow. Meanwhile, the newly-formed plains around the base 
of the mountains, to which northern species of plants could 
not spread, would be occupied by others migrating from the 
south, and perhaps by many trees, shrubs and plants, then 
first created, and remaining to this day peculiar to North 
America. 

“ The period when the White Mountains ceased to be a group 
of islands, or when, by the emergence of the surrounding 
low land, they first became connected with the continent, is, 
as we have seen, of very modern date, geologically speak¬ 
ing. It is, in fact, so recent as to belong to the epoch when 
species now contemporaneous with man already inhabited this 
planet. But, if we attempt to carry our retrospect still fur- 

25 


290 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 

ther into the past, and to go back to the date when the rocks 
themselves of the White Mountains originated, we are lost in 
times of extreme antiquity. No light is thrown on this 
inquiry by imbedded organic remains, of which the strata of 
gneis, mica schist, clay slate and quartzite, are wholly devoid. 
These masses are traversed by numerous veins of granite and 
greenstone, which are therefore newer than the stratified 
crystalline rocks which they intersect; and the abrupt man¬ 
ner in which these veins terminate at the surface, attests how 
much denudation or removal by water of solid matter has 
taken place. Another question, of a chronological kind, may 
yet deserve attention; namely, the epoch of the movements 
which threw the body of gneis and the associated rocks into 
their present bent, disturbed, and vertical positions. This 
subject is also involved in considerable obscurity, although it 
seems highly probable that the crystalline strata of New 
Hampshire acquired their internal arrangements at the same 
time as the fossilferous beds of the Appalachian or Alleghany 
chain; and we know that they assumed their actual strike 
and dip subsequently to the origin of the coal measures, 
which enter so largely into the structure of that chain.” 


CHAPTER XXII. 


EMPERATURE OF THE WEATHER AT THE MOUNTAINS. 

THERMOMETRICAL TABLE. — SYNOPSIS OP THE WEATHER. — COMPARISON OF 
WEATHER WITH LONG ISLAND WEATHER. - EARTHQUAKES. -THUNDER¬ 

STORMS. — WIND. — COLD AND FROST. — CLEARNESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 
— LENGTH OF DAYS. — SPRINGS.— COMBUSTION. 

For the following statement of the weather on the summit 
of Mount Washington, we are indebted entirely to the record 
of Mr. Nathaniel Noyes, of Boston. Mr. Noyes commenced 
a residence on the summit of Mount Washington, on the 7th 
of June, 1853, which he continued until noonday of the 
16th of September,— one hundred consecutive days (with 
the exception of an absence of one week),— during all which 
time he kept a record of the temperature of the atmosphere, 
from observations with a thermometer, commencing with the 
8th of June, at sunrise, noon and sunset, and continuing 
these observations three times daily until the 15th of Sep¬ 
tember. 

It has been found by comparison that the temperature of 
Mt. Washington is more even than that of any other place 
at which a record has ever been kept. Before many years 
have elapsed, physicians, without doubt, will recommend to 
patients who require an even and cool temperature, a residence 
at the summit of Mt. Washington during the summer months. 


292 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


THERMOMETRICAL TABLE. 


JUNE 

, 1853. 

JULY 

, 1853. |J 

AUG., 

1853. | 

SEPT., 

1853. 


c5 

co 




c5 

w 




CO 




g5 

VI 


o 


n 


CO 


Tl 


CO 




w 

• 

Th 

S3 

CO 

H 

3 

ft 

a 

3 

m 

rH 

a 

3 

02 

ft 

3 

02 

<N 

rH 

3 

02 

ci 

ft 

3 

m 

rH 

3 

m 

3 

ft 

3 

m 

<M 

rH 

3 

02 

8 

32 

40 

34 

1 

43 

55 

45 

l 

42 

59 

50 

1 

41 

51 

47 

9 

31 

45 

40 

2 

32 

46 

38 

2 

49 

51 

49 

2 

45 

58 

55 

10 

38 

52 

48 

3 

44 

53 

48 

3 

48 

58 

49 

3 

50 

58 

55 

11 

44 

47 

43 

4 

52 

60 

54 

4 

49 

54 

48 

4 

52 

55 

54 

12 

32 . 

48 

44 

5 

42 

51 

42 

5 

45 

54 

53 

5 

50 

58 

57 

13 

43 

56 

47 

6 

39 

48 

'39 

6 

51 

60 

49 

6 

57 

59 

56 

14 

48 

60 

55 

7 

29 

47 

37 

7 

46 

53 

48 

7 

56 

49 

45 

15 

53 

59 

55 

8 

38 

50 

49 

8 

49 

58 

48 

8 

30 

40 

36 

16 

54 

62 

55 

9 

41 

49 

45 

9 

50 

52 

52 

9 

33 

44 

41 

17 

54 

56 

52 

10 

45 

50 

45 

10 

48 

59 

57 

10 

37 

40 

32 

18 

43 

48 

40 

11 

45 

54 

48 

11 

52 

62 

59 

11 

28 

29 

27 

19 

39 

49 

42 

12 

40 

52 

45 

12 

52 

60 

59 

12 

24 

29 

30 

20 

50 

66 

58 

13 

38 

49 

45 

13 

59 

60 

56 

13 

32 

36 

39 

21 

48 

57 

50 

14 

42 

59 

49 

14 

58 

60 

50 

14 

38 

46 

42 

22 

54 

58 

55 

15 

52 

62 

51 

15 

45 

57 

53 

15 

45 

50 

47 

23 

58 

60 

55 

16 

51 

56 

52 

16 

50 

56 

55 

16 

38 

42 


24 

56 

42 

35 

17 

44 

49 

37 

17 

49 

62 

55 





25 

30 

36 

32 

18 

39 

55 

48 

18 

48 

58 

51 





26 

•24 

37 

30 

19 

52 

53 

50 

19 

33 

37 

33 





27 

32 

44 

38 

20 

42 

50 

41 

20 

30 

35 

36 





28 

34 

43 

35 

21 

38 

45 

46 

21 

36 

46 

45 





29 

45 

64 

58 

22 

42 

60 

56 

22 

39 

40 

35 





30 

54 

61 

53 

23 

50 

66 

56 

23 

33 

43 

42 









24 

54 

64 

59 

24 

37 

46 

45 









25 

52 

63 

55 

25 

44 

42 

36 









26 

50 

51 

45 

26 

31 

47 

42 









27 

43 

59 

49 

27 

42 

47 

47 









28 

39 

47 

45 

28 

34 

35 

32 









29 

44 

59 

54 

29 

31 

46 

43 









30 

49 

59 

56 

30 

38 

51 

50 





i 




31 

50 

59 

49 

31 

46 

49 

46 






SYNOPSIS OF THE WEATHER. 

The following is a synopsis of the weather during each 
month: 

June, 1853. 

Average temperature at sunrise, 43.3 degrees. 

Average temperature at 12 M., 53.5 degrees. 























































INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


298 


Average temperature at sunset, 45.7 degrees. 

Thermometer stood lowest, 26th day, 24 “ 

“ “ highest, 20th day, 66 11 

11 below freezing at sunrise, 6 days. 

“ “ 11 at sunset, 2 “ 

The greatest change in any day occurred the 24th, when 
the thermometer fell twenty-one degrees from sunrise to sun¬ 
set ; and twenty-six degrees in twenty-four hours. It snowed 
for several hours, covering the ground, or rather the rocks, 
several inches in depth. 

July, 1853. 

Average temperature at sunrise, 43.5 degrees. 

“ “ “ 12, M., 54.2 “ 

“ “ “ sunset, 47.7 “ 

Thermometer stood highest, 23d day, 66 

“ “ lowest, 7th day, 29 u 

There was no snow during the month, but plenty of frost, 
and some ice. 


August, 1853. 


Average temperature at sunrise, 

44 

degrees. 

“ “ “ 12, M., 

51.5 

u 

u 11 11 sunset, 

47.5 

u 

Thermometer stood highest, 11th day, 

62 

u 

“ “ lowest, 20th day, 

30 

a 


On the eighth of the month there was a severe tempest, 
accompanied with hail, which fell to the depth of several 
inches on the northerly side of the mountain. 

September, 1853. 

Average temperature at sunrise, 43.2 degrees. 

25* 


294 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


Average temperature at 12, M., 

11 “ “ sunset, 

Thermometer stood highest, 6th day, 
“ “ lowest, 12th day, 


46.8 

44.2 

59 

24 


u 


u 


At sunset, the tenth day of this month, the thermometer 
stood at the freezing-point, and a snow-storm commenced 
during the night, which continued through the whole of the 
next day, and until late in the evening, covering the surface 
to the depth of nearly a foot. I have seldom, if ever, wit¬ 
nessed a more severe storm in the winter in any place, than 
the storm there so early as September 11th. It blew a per¬ 
fect hurricane at times, prostrating a telescope stand belonging 
to the proprietors of the Summit House, which was intended 
to be of sufficient strength to withstand the hardest gales. 

The following comparison of these records with records of 
hourly thermometrical observations made upon Brooklyn 
Heights, Long Island, near the level of the sea, was taken 
from a small circular, prepared by E. Merriam, Esq., of New 
York, together with the thermometrical observations made at 
the summit: 

“It will be seen, by the annexed tabular statement, that, 
in the last twenty-three days of June, the greatest change 
during the twenty-four hours, on the summit, was twenty-one 
degrees; while on Long Island, during the same term, the 
greatest change was thirty degrees, a difference of nine de¬ 
grees in favor of the summit. In July the greatest change 
on the summit was eighteen degrees, and on Long Island 
twenty-five degrees; making a difference in favor of the 
summit of seven degrees. The month of August was still 
more equilibrious, the greatest change on the summit being 
but seventeen degrees, and, on Long Island, but twenty- 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


295 


two degrees; being five degrees in favor of Mount Wash¬ 
ington. September, from 1st to 15th, the period named 
by both records, was still more equilibrious than August; 
the greatest change on the summit being thirteen degrees, 
and on Long Island eighteen degrees; difference in favor 
of the summit, five degrees. It therefore most clearly ap¬ 
pears that the temperature of the summit of Mount Wash¬ 
ington is not subject to such sudden and great changes as 
the temperature of Long Island. 

u The highest temperature on the summit, during the hun¬ 
dred days, was sixty-six degrees, which was at noon on the 
20 th of June and 28d of July; and, on Long Island, during 
the same time, the highest was ninety-seven degrees, and was 
on the twenty-first of June. 

“ The lowest temperature on the summit in June, was on 
the 24th of that month; twenty-four degrees, or eight degrees 
below the freezing-point; in July, on the Tth, twenty-nine de¬ 
grees ; in August, on the 20th, thirty degrees; and in Septem¬ 
ber, to the 15th, twenty-four degrees on the 12th. On Long 
Island, the lowest temperature in June was forty-four de¬ 
grees on the 9th; in July, fifty-eight degrees on the 18th ; in 
August, fifty-five degrees on the 29tli; and of the first 
fourteen days in September, fifty-one degrees on the 12th. 

“ During the hundred days, the temperature on the summit 
of Mount Washington fell to and below the freezing-point on 
seventeen days, viz., six in June, two in July, four in 
August, and five in September. 

“ During the hundred days, earthquakes occurred on five 
days, viz., on the 17th and 20th of July, at Portland, 
Maine; on the 28th of August, at New Madrid, Mississippi 
river; on the 8th of September, at New Bedford, Mass.; 
and, on the 11th of September, at Biloxi, Louisiana. These 


296 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


shocks of earthquake, each and all, reduced the temperature 
of the atmosphere upon the summit of Mount Washington 
as follows: 

“The two shocks of earthquakes at Portland, Maine, 
between five and six, A. M., of the 17th of July, reduced the 
temperature on the summit from forty-nine to thirty-seven 
degrees, or within five degrees of the freezing-point; and 
the shock at the same place, on the afternoon of the 20th of 
the same month, reduced the temperature of the summit 
from fifty to thirty-eight degrees, or within six degrees of the 
freezing-point. An earthquake at New Madrid, on the Mis¬ 
sissippi river, on the 28th August, reduced the temperature 
at the summit from forty-seven to thirty-four degrees, or one 
degree below the freezing-point. On the 7th of September, 
the shock of an earthquake was felt at New Bedford, Mass., 
in the evening, which reduced the temperature at the summit 
from fifty-six to thirty degrees; and a shock at Biloxi and 
along the lake coast, near New Orleans, on the 11th of Sep¬ 
tember, at five P. M., reduced the temperature on the summit 
from forty-nine to twenty-six degrees. Thus it appears 
that of earthquakes occurring on or east of the Mississippi 
river, on two days in July, one in August, and two in Sep¬ 
tember, and all that we have accounts of occurring within 
that district within that length of time, all produced the 
same results in refrigerating the temperature of the atmos¬ 
phere on the summit of Mount Washington.” 

THUNDER-STORMS. 

On the eighth of August, at four P. M., there was a thunder¬ 
storm, attended by some hail, on the summit; and at the ledge, 
about one mile below, on the eastern side, the hail fell to the 
depth of several inches. The thunder was heavy, and the 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 297 

lightning vivid ; and the crash followed the flash so quickly, 
that it seemed difficult to distinguish any perceptible difference 
between the light and the sound. In the evening lightning 
w r as seen in several directions. 

A thunder-storm was experienced at the summit on the 
13th of August, at one, and again at six, P. M.; and on 
the 14th of the same month, at two P. M., was the heaviest 
thunder-storm Mr. Noyes had witnessed during his residence 
thus far on the summit. The lightning appeared the most 
active at the south-east; the rain fell in torrents all day, and 
during the thunder-storm, at two P. M., the wind was very 
severe. 

The sound of the thunder at the summit is peculiar, re¬ 
sembling the quick discharge of a cannon, and the sound of 
but short duration. 

The wind blows steadily with great pressure on the sum¬ 
mit, and not in gusts as in other places. He thinks the 
winds are stronger than in the valleys. 

% 

COLD AND FROST. 

White hoar-frost is occasionally seen on the summit of 
the mountain, but not often. 

CLEARNESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 

Mr. Noyes remarks, that he has never taken particular 
notice how many mornings in a week the sun rises clear; but 
he thinks not more than three mornings in a week on an 
average ; and, immediately preceding the 13th of August, it 
had been nearly a week since they had been favored with a 
clear sunrise or clear sunset at the summit, the atmosphere 
having been foggy. 

Objects can be seen at a greater distance after sunset 


298 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN IIISTOKY. 

than during sunlight. Mr. Noyes remarks, that he could 
distinctly see the Glen House, situate at the foot of the 
mountain, which he computes at two and a half miles distant 
in air-line, at nine P. M., about sixty-five minutes after 
sunset. 

LENGTH OE DAYS. 

The days are about forty minutes longer on the summit, 
that is, between sunrise and sunset, than on the sea level in 
the same latitude. 

A person hallooing from a position below the summit 
can be heard by a person standing on the summit a greater 
distance than the same hallooing upon the summit could be 
heard down the mountain, evidencing that the sound as¬ 
cends. 

SPRINGS. 

A living spring of delicious water, about thirty rods 
below the house, on the northern side of the summit, supplies 
water abundantly; and while towns in the neighborhood, 
near the sea level, were suffering for w^ater, the spring con¬ 
tinued its uniform supply. Water from such a spring must 
be of the very best. 

THIRST. 

In reference to thirst at the summit, Mr. Noyes says: 
“ I am well satisfied, from my own experience, as well as 
remarks made by my wife, and other members of the house¬ 
hold, that persons are much more thirsty here than below. 
I have drank double or treble the quantity of water here that 
I should have required in Boston, although it is much colder 
here than there.” 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 299 


Almost every one who ascends the mountain is very 
thirsty, not only here, but drinking at every little rivulet on 
the way up; and these little mountain streams are very 
plenty. 

COMBUSTION. 

Mr. Noyes, in his letter of September 8d, says: “ I 
have watched repeatedly to see if smoke ascends here; hut 
have never seen it two feet above the ventilator. It always 
beats down around the house. When the air is still, wood 
burns very slow on the summit, and seems to burn more like 
wood in a coal-pit, where it is not allowed much air.” 


4 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Before we leave these mountains, around which we have 
so long detained the reader, let us earnestly invite him to visit 
them. If he has already made their acquaintance, let him come 
again, and often. Not too often can he drink in the inspira¬ 
tion of these noble hills. If he has never yet stood beneath 
their mighty shadow, he cannot do so too soon. New T sen¬ 
sations yet await him. Come from the thronged cities and 
dusty streets, and refresh yourselves yearly in the clear 
atmosphere of these “ Crystal Hills,” Says the eloquent 
Webster: “ We believe and we know that its scenery is 
beautiful; that its skies are all healthful; that its mountains 
and lakes are surpassingly grand and sublime. 

“If there be anything on this continent, the work of 
nature, in hills, and lakes, and woods, and forests, strongly 
attracting the admiration of all those who love natural 
scenery, that is to be found in our mountain state of New 
Hampshire. It happened to me lately to visit the northern 
part of the state. It was autumn. The trees of the forest, 
by the discoloration of the leaves, presented one of the most 
beautiful spectacles that the human eye can rest upon. 
But the low and deep murmur of those forests, the fog rising 
and spreading and clasping the breast of the mountains, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 301 


whose heads were still high and bright in the skies, — all 
these indicated that a wintry storm was on its wing; that the 
spirit of the mountain was stirred, and that, ere long, the 
voice of tempests would be spent. But even this was excit¬ 
ing,— exciting to those of us who were witnesses before, and 
exciting in itself as an exhibition of the grandeur of natural 
scenery. Bor my part, I felt the truth of that sentiment 
applied elsewhere and on another occasion, that 

* The loud torrent and the whirlwind’s roar 
But bound me to my native mountains more.’ ” 

Come; and when you come, come prepared to stay, to 
study, to feel them. Select some home beneath their broad 
shadows, and each day roam over and among them until they 
are yours—their image and their might indelibly fastened in 
your memory. 11 These old settlers are somewhat tardy in 
forming intimate acquaintanceships. With them ‘ confidence 
is a plant of slow growth.’ Their externals they give to the 
eye in a moment, on a clear day; but their character, their 
occasional moods of superior majesty, their coy loveliness of 
light and drapery — all that makes them a refreshment, a 
force, a joy for the rest of your years, they show only to the 
calmer eye — to a man who w T aits a day or two in order to 
unthink his city habits, and bide their time. It is utterly 
impossible to know what the White Mountains are by whirl¬ 
ing through Conway, and Glen, and Notch, and Franconia, 
in a week. Use the week at some one central point. Spend 
the same money at one spot that is to spread over the length¬ 
ened journey; take the proper times for driving out to the 
best positions, and the mountains will come to you, which, it 
is said, they refused to do for the author of the Koran.” 

Bring not the cares and anxieties of Wall-street and State- 

26 


302 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


street, but shake off the very dust of them from your feet as 
you set your faces northward to these summer resorts. 
Freedom is an essential element in the air of these moun¬ 
tains, — freedom from the brain-ache and heart-ache attend¬ 
ant upon this money strife. Dollars and cents do not count 
in Tuckerman’s Ravine, and their jingle is in harsh disso¬ 
nance of the fall of the Thousand Streams. Calculation of 
percentage, as one sits and sees the 

“ Mysteries of color daily laid 
By the great sun in light and shade,” 

on these rugged, craggy heights, is impossible. Stocks are 
valueless when standing at the sources of those mighty 
rivers, which carry fertility, and wealth, and health, to all 
New England. Freedom from political prejudice is here 
found. Washington and Jefferson suffer no political strifes 
or ranklings beneath their shadows. Whigs and democrats 
go toiling up their steep sides together, and northerners and 
southerners, side by side on the same summit, look off on 
the same wide prospect below them. Americans and for¬ 
eigners, descendants from the fathers of the Revolution and 
exiles from the iron rod of despotism, all bow in reverence 
and acknowledge willing allegiance to 

“ This family of mountains, clustering around 
Their hoary patriarch.” 

Freedom from the thousand petty annoyances and restraints 
of city and village life is here the bliss of the traveller. 
Does the exhilarating air stimulate ? Go out, and, to the 
full capacity of the lungs, wake the echoes of the hills. The 
chest all bare, breathe in the pure mountain air, until your 
deep tones shall awaken the talk of the hills, peak answering 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 303 


to peak in the far-off distance. Is the dress of fashionable 
life too restraining for climbing over the rough and broken 
places ? — throw it off, and, clad in freer, looser garments, 
run, and walk, and ramble, the livelong day. No gossip 
should be whispered in the beautiful glen; no petty etiquette 
should be observed while standing on the ruins of the terrible 
avalanches. 

Worshippers and followers of the same great Author of 
these mountains may forget their different sects, and bow in 
unison around these mighty “ altars.” 

“ Not vainly did the early Persian make 
His altar the high places and the peak 
Of earth-o’ergazing mountains, and thus take 
A fit and unwalled temple, there to seek 
The Spirit, in whose honor shrines are weak 
Upreared of human hands. Come, and compare 
Columns and idol-dwellings, Goth or Greek, 

With Nature’s realms of worship, — earth and air, 

Nor fix on fond abodes to circumscribe thy prayer ! ” 

Come, and amid the works of God study the words of God. 
“The Bible came out of a mountain country. The book of 
Exodus, which, for poetic sublimity, makes the coloring of 
the Iliad pale, should be read, if one would get the true 
commentary on it, as Dr. Robinson read the sublimest pas¬ 
sages of it, a few years ago, among the cliffs of Horeb, over¬ 
looking the plateau where the gathered wanderers saw the 
mountain quake and blaze. ‘ Job ’ must be studied by an 
imagination that can conjure Idumean landscapes and skies. 
There are passages in the prophets which no annotations 
could interpret to men that had lived on prairies all their 
days. And the Psalms, especially, which are dyed in the 
spirit of all kinds of scenery, as well as in the most intense 


304 INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


and varied experiences of the soul,— which interweave with 
their rapturous piety imagery and colors caught from the 
pastures of Bethlehem, the forests of Horeth, the caves of 
Adullam, the wilderness of Engedi, and the mountain fast¬ 
nesses of Ziph,— cannot yield the riches of inspiration to a 
formal reading, but must, many of them, be set under influ¬ 
ences of nature kindred to those which helped to kindle 
them, before they will glow and sing themselves anew. The 
twenty-third should be read once in sight of the Connecticut 
meadows ; the nineteenth, on a hill overlooking a desert; the 
eighteenth, during a thunder-shower; the eighth, under a 
sparkling, frosty night sky; the sixty-fifth after a rain that 
breaks the drought; then the power of poetry, as well as of 
piety, that is in them would be manifest.” 

“ Lo ! in softened grandeur far, yet clear. 

Thy battlements stand clothed in heaven’s own hue, 

To swell as Freedom’s home on man’s unbounded view ! ” 

Mountains are ever favorable to liberty. They abound 
with the very elements of its life and vigor. Survey the 
objects they embrace, and you must see the truth of this 
remark. These are all free and active in their movements. 
No fetter constrains them, no shackle confines them. Its 
streams all murmur the tones of freedom as they flow in 
their courses. Its eagles all scream of liberty as they wheel 
their flight about its romantic slopes, and over its more tow¬ 
ering elevations. The note of every other bird, too, is in 
keeping with these. They all chirp exemption from enthral¬ 
ment, as they line its green valleys, or flit along its beautiful 
hill-sides. 

Mountains are especially favorable to the cause of human 
liberty. When driven out from other portions of the world, 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 305 


she has always found an asylum in her mountains. There 
she is cherished. Nature comes to the protection of her 
votary, and throws around him the bulwarks of its rocks and 
precipices. These, wherever he comes to them, check the 
tyrant in his progress. This has been the case in all past 
time. u The inhabitants of our New Hampshire mountains 
were, it must be confessed, from the first, rather inclined to 
a mutinous spirit. I believe that is common to mountainous 
regions in most parts of the world. Scotland and Switzer¬ 
land show the example of hardy, strong men in mountainous 
regions, attached to war and to the chase ; and it is not un¬ 
fortunate in our New Hampshire history that this sentiment, 
to a considerable degree, prevailed.” 

May liberty never be driven to our mountain passes. May 
we never be forced to these retreats, and the u patriot 
group ” see tyrants marshalling their troops in these valleys. 
0, the voice with which those hoary peaks would almost 
speak ! 0, the anguish of Washington ! 

u I know the value of liberty. I helped pay a large price 
for it in the sweat I expended on the field of Monmouth ; in 
the cold and suffering I endured at Valley Forge; in the 
dreadful suspense I had on the banks of the Delaware pre¬ 
vious to the battle at Princeton; and now how can I bear to 
see it lost ? 

“ I have stood here with my compeers, for a long time, 

• . 

watching the movement of things on the broad territory for 
whose good I toiled, with the feeling all the while in me 
that, if its inhabitants perpetuated the freedom I helped give 
them, I should be well compensated for my sufferings. Put, 
if they barter it, and ever succumb to a tyrant, either tem¬ 
poral or spiritual, I could never wish to see the sight, but 
would gladly cover my head with an unbroken thick veil of 

26 * 


306 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 


cloud, as I have sometimes done with passing ones, and never 
again look on a land of vassals and slaves. 

lt As I have once said, I say again : I know the value of 
liberty, and never, never while I have strength to stand here 
as firm as I do, while the vigor is in me still that has enabled 
me to buffet so many storms as I have, never, never will I 
barter it away. My head shall always be free from the 
badge of a slave, towering up toward heaven in a significant 
speaking adoration to the God that has formed me.” 

No oppression, certainly none sustained by law or custom, 
can ever exist around the White Mountains. This is a 
cheering reflection. No slave can ever live on them, or near 
them. They are consecrated to freedom. They are suited 
to produce a race of vigorous freemen. We have loved them 
in times past. We love them still. 


“ Where’er our wandering footsteps roam, 
To thee our fond affections cling ; 

Land of our love ! our childhood’s home ! 
Land of the cliff and eagle’s wing ! 

IIow proudly stands the mountain height 
That overlooks the vales and streams ! 
In youth it shone to bless our sight ; 

In age it lingers in our dreams. 

’T is in the mountain that the heart 
Resolves its thought and purpose high 
To act the just, the noble part 
For God, for truth, and liberty. 

How oft has freedom, in the days 

Of grief and war’s disastrous shocks. 
Her shattered banner dared to raise 
Once more upon the mountain rocks ! 


INCIDENTS IN WHITE MOUNTAIN HISTORY. 807 


Enthralment cannot climb that height ; 

Slaves cannot breathe that upper air ; 

Emblem of freemen,■— ’t is the flight 
Of eagles only that is there. 

We love thee, land of rocks and rills ! 

Land of the wood, the lake, the glen ! 

Great in the grandeur of thy hills, 

And greater in thy mighty men.” 

We say, then, in a few words to close, all ye inhabitants 
in this broad land, all ye in every part of her wide domain, 
visit these mountains as ye have done, and in larger num¬ 
bers ; breathe their air; bathe yourselves in their atmosphere, 
made rich and refreshing with bud and blossom; trace their 
rivers, and make closer acquaintance with their inhabitants, 
and you will get stronger, deeper energies to do life’s great 
work. And you, inhabitants of the mountains, prize the 
privileges you enjoy, the blessings of your birthplace and 
home ; trace your way up often to God through some of his 
grandest works. Through all your life, in full sight of 
them, serve him and your country w T ell; and then, when life 
is done, from the very midst of them you may go up to 
occupy those higher delectable mountains, the very sight of 
which captivated the soul of Bunyan,— those everlasting 
hills on whose shining summits the people of God from every 
clime will swell the anthems of eternity. 


FINIS. 































. 



































































































































